The Florida Roundup - Legislative measures target drag shows, renter protections and THC

Episode Date: April 14, 2023

A controversial bill targeting drag performances could impact gay pride events in cities across the state. Also, more controversial legislation affecting Florida’s LGBT community moves ahead. Plus: Tallahassee also looks to take away local control around renter’s rights.

Welcome to the Florida Roundup and thanks for listening. I'm Melissa Ross in Jacksonville. And I'm Danny Rivero in Miami. A bill is moving in the Florida House that would criminalize, quote, adult live performances in front of children. Meanwhile, the state Senate version passed earlier this week. while the state senate version passed earlier this week now while neither versions of this bill explicitly call out drag shows opponents say the measure is part of a larger anti-lgbtq agenda palm bay republican representative randy fine is the bill's sponsor in the state of florida what we are saying in this bill is keep it away from children. All this bill does.

Now, opponents of the legislation, including Jacksonville representative Angie Nixon, a Democrat, say parents should be able to make decisions about whether their kids attend events. People can love who they want to love. People can dress how the heck they want to dress. But I'm some deviant parent. Are you kidding me? That's absurd. So what does this legislation truly mean for big public events like pride parades that happen in different cities? And more broadly, how's it being received by Florida's large LGBTQ plus community? You can give us a call statewide at 305-995-1800. That's 305-995-1800. And you can tweet us at Florida Roundup. Your calls and tweets in a bit as we welcome

reporter Catherine Varn covering this for USA Today. Hi, Catherine. Hi there. Thanks for having me. Also on the line, Patrick Givas, an organizer for Miami Beach Pride. Hi, Patrick. Hello. Thank you for having me. Also on the line, Patrick Givas, an organizer for Miami Beach Pride. Hi, Patrick. Hello. Thank you for having me. Okay. Catherine Varn, let's start with you. What exactly would this measure do if it's signed into law? So the text of the bill says that it would ban children from attending what the bill calls adult live performances, which it defines as any show, exhibition, or other presentation that is performed in front of a live audience and in whole or in part depicts or stimulates nudity, sexual conduct, sexual

excitement, and other lewd acts. It also prohibits children attending shows with lewd exposure of prosthetic or imitation genitals or breasts. And that section in particular has advocates concerned that this will be used to ban children from attending drag shows, which will ultimately, they worry, which will ultimately, they worry, have a chilling effect on venues being willing to host drag shows. So that's kind of the thrust of the bill. It also, the Senate sponsor added an amendment last week that would prohibit governments from issuing permits for these adult live performances that children will attend. So that has Pride organizers concerned that that will have a chilling effect on Pride events as well, which often incorporate drag shows.

That's a key part of expression in the LGBTQ community. And if you've been to a Pride event, there's usually, you know, there are usually drag shows. So that's kind of the thrust of the bill. All right. Here's some back and forth between Republican Randy Fine, the sponsor, and state rep Kristen Arrington, a Democrat from Osceola County. Take a listen. Kristen Arrington, a Democrat from Osceola County. Take a listen. Would Broadway shows such as Mrs. Doubtfire, Kinky Boots,

would they be regulated and would they be included in this bill? Representative Fine? Thank you. If they engage in behavior as defined by the definition in the bill, yes. All right. Let's get Patrick Givas to weigh in now. Patrick, the Miami Beach Pride Parade is actually scheduled for this weekend. So this bill, as it moves through the process, what are your concerns about it? Catherine's work in covering this, but we are watching closely and are deeply concerned, deeply disappointed because the true reality is that this could fundamentally alter how prides function. And that includes us in a big way. And so we have been very clear that

please come this weekend and enjoy and make your voices heard because this could be the last pride as you know it, in Miami Beach. And Patrick, I mean, you just mentioned that this could be this major crackdown essentially on LGBTQ culture in a place like Miami Beach that a lot of the tourism and the business it happens because it is so friendly to these communities I mean what what is the response been on the on the business side of this that's a great question you know I think that we have been in the extremely fortunate place to have a lot of support from local businesses, from the City of Miami Beach, the Chamber of Commerce, as well as even the GMCVB, the Greater Convention Center and Visitors Bureau, it's been really challenging to have a really firm stake in the ground, but everyone is watching very closely. And there's no question that so many of our local businesses benefit.

I mean, we were up to, right before the pandemic, 170,000 people attended Miami Beach Pride. And that is a tremendous influx benefiting our local economy from the hotels, restaurants. So to have to fundamentally alter that because of this legislation could have a, you know, a really major impact on our local economics. And, you know, one thing is the permitting part of this, you know, the pride parade in a place like Miami Beach. I mean, this happens on public roads usually. It's a public

event. But how would this bill, if it becomes law, impact businesses that host drag shows, drag brunches, things like that that are very popular? For sure. I mean, I think that's a big concern in that, you know, if that element goes away, you know, I think we live in an amazing place where we have the luxury of being able to go to, you know, venerable venues like Palace and the Our House Brunch in Wynwood is consistently, you know, both of those places rank as must-sees here. So I think that from a business standpoint, it could be really challenging. And I think that we've tried to always make our position clear as Miami Beach Pride that, you know, drag queens are very much a part of the lifeblood of our programs. And we, you know, we'll never abandon them, you know, in the face of this.

So I think that we might have to get creative and the businesses might have to follow suit in terms of how to move forward. And I will mention our house you just mentioned in Miami's Woodenwood neighborhood is already facing state action before this law even passed, trying to go after the liquor license. I do want to go to the phone so you can call us at 305-995-1800. And we have Patty calling from Fort Pierce. Patty, thanks for calling the Florida Roundup. You're on the line. Thank you. This whole bill is absurd.

Drag is not inherently sexual. It is a performance and it's been part of theater history for centuries. So it is absurd for these people to be targeting anything in drag as being somehow unnatural or damaging to children and they need to let it go. Patty, thanks. Catherine Varn, is there any language in the bill that defines adult live performances like, say, a drag performance or a pride parade as somehow sexual. Because as the caller points out, going back to Shakespearean times, these kinds of performances are a tradition in the theater world and in the culture, and they are not sexualized performances.

They are just performances. So does the bill define pride parades, for example, or going to say a show at Hamburger Mary's as sexual? Yeah, that's a great question. And the caller is exactly right. I mean, drag shows are certainly not inherently sexual and they are an art form that goes back centuries. So, yeah, there's there's nothing in the bill that that drag isn't even mentioned in the bill. And the Senate sponsor has made a big point of that saying the word drag doesn't appear this isn't aiming, you know, this isn't we're not trying to target a particular group. However, the House sponsor has been much more explicit and, and has said, I mean, when he first filed the bill, he said it was in part to target

Drag Queens Story Hour, which is a speaker series in which drag queens read storybooks to children. And I mean, he told me in an interview last week, quote, I've never been to a pride parade, but I have seen photos and videos from these things where you see participants behaving in ways that would not be appropriate in front of this bill. So he's pretty much, he's made it pretty clear that drag shows and pride events are part of the bill's aims. But as far as what the bill text actually says, it does not go into drag shows or pride events. It just talks about adult life performances, which it defines, as I read in my earlier answer. But advocates have still pointed out that language is pretty vague and can be

applied in a lot of different ways and have tried to get more specifics about like we heard Rep Arrington questioning Representative Fine in the clip earlier. They've tried to get more specifics. Hey, would this be banned? Would this be banned? Like what about drag shows? What about pride events? What about Broadway shows like Chicago? And the answers from the bill sponsors has just sort of been repeatedly reading back from the bill. If it doesn't have any of these things listed in the bill, then it should be fine. So it's been tough to get any specifics other than sort of what Representative Fine has said, you know, his motivations for filing the bill are. motivations for filing the bill are. Speaking of Chicago, a listener tweets the Florida Roundup saying, I'm going to have to leave the state where I pay taxes and want to raise my kids

to show them works of art like Chicago and of the tropics and Les Mis. This makes me feel like I'm living in a police state and I'm sick to my stomach. Another point of view on the line, it's Jamie in Tampa. Hi, Jamie. What are your thoughts? Hey, Melissa. Hey, Danny. How are you guys doing today? All right. Thanks for calling. Go ahead. No problem. I think that we need to keep this away from kids, especially our youngest, because they're going to they're going to grow up thinking that this is OK, that it's OK to act like this and be like this. To act like what? To do the whole, I mean. To be gay?

To be gay? To dress up? Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. And a lot of people would say, but Jamie, why can't kids just live in blissful ignorance? Well, it would be nice if they could, but they can't, especially with the technology today. I mean, kids are hooked in. They're hooked up.

They know. They know what it's all about. They know about these drag shows. But why do you think there's something wrong with being gay or dressing up in drag? Why is that necessarily bad? Well, Melissa, there has to be a cutoff point. I mean, you don't want to – Pete just to a three-year-old. You know what I'm saying?

I'm not saying that it is, that it is horrible per se, but I'm saying there does have to be some kind of a cutoff point, you know, maybe, maybe an age limit to it. All right. Well, let's get a Patrick. Give us a Miami beach pride to respond to that. Go ahead, Patrick. Sure. You know, I think that we always try to honor everyone's, you know, perspectives. I think even when they're perhaps a little misguided, you know, and I think that so much of what we try to offer as a nonprofit organization through, we've had two weeks of programming, is finding those venues to let people express themselves as they are and to also be

supportive. And so one of the things that is really important in our community is that if, especially a child, is, you know, questioning or wanting to express themselves in certain ways you know we know that there's so much research that you know shows some of the the spectrum and fluidity as kids are curious and also it's the adults that are putting this extra meaning behind it a little boy may just want to wear a dress and that doesn't mean that he's gonna be gay gonna be a drag queen maybe you know it's it's just one day they want to see what it looks that doesn't mean that he's going to be gay, going to be a drag queen. Maybe, you know, it's just one day they want to see what it looks like. And the next day he's playing with G.I. Joe's. I think that there's so much that agreed we should let kids be kids and let them figure some things out on their own. But in the instance of having them exposed to certain

things to know that it's not bad or and I think that's where it goes back to what Catherine was saying in some of this legislation, that it's so vague and it could be applied in these different ways that that is actually the true harm to children. I mean, we all understand and agree that there should be limits and the same drag shows that you're going to see this weekend as part of our programming, all of the Queens are very well aware that this is a public event. It's free to the public and there are children and there are absolute limits that should be appropriate for kids. And we take that really seriously. So I think a lot of it is misguided in that, you know,

why can't a kid see someone in dress up? They don't put that much meaning behind it. It's the adults that are, that are doing the harm. The number is 305-995-1800. And I want to go to John calling from St. John's. John, thanks for calling. You're on the line. on Tavernier, to look for immigrants. Key West got enraged. We ceded from the union, declared ourselves the Conk Republic, and had a phenomenal party. If these Republicans do anything to affect the fantasy fest in Key West, I guarantee they will lose Monroe County south of Tavernier. There will be an outrage that they have never seen. And just for our listeners' sake, Fantasy Fest is an annual festival, really celebrates public nudity, drag queens.

No, no, no. Sorry, I was down there when it started. If you think it's outrageous now, I can tell you it calmed down late. Back then, it was outright obscene and wonderful. And if you couldn't handle it, don't come. But I know the people down there, they will dust off those secession papers. They will declare the Cork Republic again. and we will have another fantastic party. And the Republicans will lose everything south of Cabanier in Monroe County.

Thank you so much for the call, John. Catherine, we're running low on time here, but can you fill us in quickly on where this bill stands now and what's next on it? Sure. So the bill has already passed the senate that happened um either last week or earlier this week uh on the house side it was approved by a subcommittee on wednesday and its next stop is the florida house floor on april 18th uh which is this coming tuesday um so and catherine uh yeah Could we also know, because it's making national news late

last night, Governor Ron DeSantis also signed into law a Florida six week abortion ban. Tell us more about that quickly. Sure. Yeah. So the legislature approved the ban yesterday and it was it was approved by the Senate already. So it went through the House yesterday. And it was a it was approved by the Senate already. So it went through the House yesterday. And then yeah, within just a few hours, it was sent down to the governor's desk, and he posted a tweet of himself signing it in a closed door ceremony just after 11pm. The ban will not go into effect or it it will the whether it goes into effect as contingent on the Florida Supreme Court and how they rule in a current lawsuit against the 15 week ban. So until that point,

the 15 week ban is you can get an abortion up to 15 weeks of pregnancy. But if that six week ban does go into effect, it does have exceptions for rape, incest and human trafficking up to 15 weeks. It does have exceptions for rape, incest and human trafficking up to 15 weeks. And there are several requirements for what documentation you would need to produce to prove to prove that. And there are a couple other things such as you have to see a physician twice leading up to your abortion procedure. And there has to be at least 24 hours between each appointment. There has to be at least 24 hours between each appointment. And so a lot of Democrats and abortion access advocates have said it's basically a de facto ban, not only because a lot of women don't know they're pregnant before six weeks of pregnancy, but also because there are a lot of requirements that take time. And time is really of the essence when we're talking about a six week ban.

Time is of the essence. Patrick, in the meantime, as you say, the Miami Pride Parade is on. And of course, other major Florida cities hold similar events. Yes, we are going ahead as planned. This is our 15th anniversary, and we are going big. And we would encourage everyone who's listening to come enjoy. You know, our festival is free. Our parade starts at noon on Sunday along Ocean Drive. And it's also to come enjoy. You know, our festival is free. Our parade starts at noon on Sunday along Ocean Drive. And it's also a great time. We have elected representatives on

both sides of the aisle who will be writing. So we are asking for folks to do a little bit more homework, do a quick Google search and cheer on those who have been in support of our rights and ask questions of those who haven't and try to come to some additional understanding so that we can, you know, make this all better here in the state of Florida. Well, thank you both. Reporter Catherine Varn, covering this issue for USA Today, and Patrick Givas, organizer for Miami Beach Pride, will follow this measure. Thank you both for being with us. Sure thing. Thanks for having us. Later in the hour, what's going on with THC and hemp in Florida? But up next, lawmakers taking away local control over renters'

rights. That's next on the Florida Roundup. Welcome back to the Florida Roundup. I'm Danny Rivero in Miami. And I'm Alyssa Ross in Jacksonville. Well, as rent prices have shot up dramatically over the last few years, cities and counties across Florida have been working to pass protections for people who rent their homes. And these local protections range from landlords having to notify tenants when a new owner buys a building, to having the right to repair issues on a property,

to requiring landlords to give months of notice before a dramatic rental increase. Right. Now, here's the thing. A bill that's moving through Tallahassee could soon put all of those new tenant protections at risk as the state is considering an outright ban on local measures to protect tenants. Here's the bill's sponsor, Panama City Republican Senator Jay Trumbull. There is a ordinance in Dade County that says if a renter decides that they want to do an improvement on their property, that they can balance that against their rent with no controls, no permits, no things like that. And so what we're trying to accomplish are primping those types of things, starting at the state level.

The bill passed and is now in the Senate Rules Committee, and its House counterpart has passed two committees so far. We want to hear from our listeners on this one. You can call us at 305-995-1800. And you can also tweet us at Florida Roundup. nine, nine, five, 1800. And you can also tweet us at Florida roundup joining us now to talk about this. We welcome Colleen Wright, who's a reporter with the Tampa Bay times. Thanks for coming on Colleen. Thanks for having me. And we're also joined by Sandra Den, Denise, the executive director of the Miami worker center. Sandra, thanks for coming on. Thanks for having us. And also Alana Greer, director of the Community Justice Project, a legal group that's worked on tenants issues in Miami-Dade County. Santra, Alana, thank you. Thank you both for coming on.

Thanks so much. Great to be here. So, Colleen, let's start with you. We've seen several local governments across the state begin to enact these local rent ordinances, including Pinellas County. Can you tell us a little bit about what the county law does in Pinellas County, what protections it puts in place for renters there? Absolutely. So the Pinellas County Commission back in August passed its own tenants bill of rights. And that would, that would be an effect for all 24 cities in Pinellas County. And it basically gives renters a lot of protections. The biggest ones

being that landlords can't discriminate against renters who have government vouchers that are for a duration less than a year, or before a landlord could say, say maybe you know i i can't take this government voucher because it would affect my insurance costs that gets rid of that um now landlords have to accept those vouchers um there there's pretty strong uh protections there and the they went into effect in october um however they were following what st petersburg did about three years ago three four years ago um but actually the Pinellas County tenants version is actually stronger than the cities, even though they were following the city's lead. And Sandra, I want to bring you into this. The Miami Workers Center last year organized and got the Miami-Dade County Commission to pass really sweeping new protections for people who rent in the county.

to pass really sweeping new protections for people who rent in the county. And I do want to mention that that package passed unanimously with Democrats and even the chair of the Miami-Dade Republican Party voting in support of it. Can you walk us a little bit through what went into organizing for that victory and what it meant for residents and tenants once it passed? Absolutely. for residents and tenants once it once it passed um absolutely we're super proud of the miami-dade tenant bill of rights and the champions both commissioner monestine then commissioner monestine and rahel regalado we know that what tenants are experiencing in miami-dade county and throughout this state is not only rent hikes, what we call rent gouging, but also

conditions issues where there are lack of repairs, lack of maintenance, harmful and unsafe conditions that exist in our housing supply. And so during the pandemic, late 2020, Miami Worker Center knew that communities were experiencing issues and our organizers knocked thousands of doors and asked them what were their primary concerns. And people were home, they weren't working, so they had to face the conditions issues in their homes. And overwhelmingly people lifted up housing. And from there, we started to bring forward, ask them what were their priorities in terms of housing. And from their stories from tenants on the ground, from North Miami to Hialeah to Sweetwater, that's how the Tenant Bill of Rights came about. We launched a campaign in July 2021.

After months of listening, we launched publicly at the government center. And then in May 2022, publicly at the government center. And then in May 2022, after months of meetings, months of mobilizations at the county press conferences, and even standing up to landlords that were violating some of the demands that were in the tenant bill of rights, we were able to pass it in May 2022. And I want to give the phone number in case we're getting any calls on this. It's 305-995-1800, 305-995-1800. I want us to take a moment here because we're talking about a state bill that would undo everything that Sandra was just talking about and what's happened in other parts of the state. Let's listen to what the Florida Apartment Association says about why they're supporting this bill. And we're going to hear from Jimmy

Chestnut speaking in a committee in the Florida House, and he's the president of that group. Florida has over 400 cities and 67 counties. If each local government enacted separate landlord tenant policies, it could quickly create a patchwork of consistent policies across the state that will cause confusion for residents and landlords. Protecting this regulatory consistency is critical to ensure that Florida remains a desirable place for housing providers to develop and continue to offer housing opportunities for Florida's growing population. Alana, I want to bring you into this. You were in Tallahassee this week, meeting and speaking to lawmakers and talking to other tenant groups around the state. What do you make of this argument that it's too complicated for corporations to have local governments putting different regulations in place across the state. What do you make of it?

You know, it's a really upsetting argument and ingenuous, disingenuous argument. We were up there with almost 100 tenants and local homeowners from across the state that are by no means confused by what these local organs mean. They've helped shape them, they've helped draft them, they've helped pass them, and they benefit from them now. Their housing stability rests on a lot of these protections. And let's speak clearly. The only folks that are impacted by this argument about consistency are large corporate landlords who own property across multiple counties, multiple cities.

Those folks have their own legal departments. They have plenty of folks that can help interpret these rather simple protections at the local level. And if we're really that concerned about consistency, why aren't they asking to put these laws into state protection, which we've been asking for for years? Rather rather they're asking to roll back and really just leave a void where renters rights have stood based on these local ordinances it's it's a really disingenuous argument it's really upsetting um and you know we've also seen these same apartment association and realtor association lobbyists lobbying for their own ordinances on the local level so they don't mind inconsistency when it benefits them but when it

comes to protecting renters and shifting the balance of power, that's when they're asking the state for consistency. If you're just tuning in right now on the Florida Roundup, we're talking about an effort in Tallahassee to take away local control from cities across Florida that have tried to pass measures protecting tenants. What do you think about a tenant's bill of rights? How much are you paying for rent? What do you think about these protections being removed? Your calls in a minute. Give us a call statewide 305-995-1800. Now, cities and

counties across the state have passed tenant protections. Let's listen to Hialeah Mayor Steve Bovo. He's a Republican. Here's what he had to say when Hialeah decided to put in protections for tenants after residents saw huge rent spikes. Any one of us that has to experience a $600 increase in rent, that would be devastating. If my mortgage company told me tomorrow they're going to increase me 600, I'd be screaming at the top of my lungs. I understand capitalism and I understand the free market. And we have a demand that is not being met by the supplies that we have out there. OK, Sandra Denise, what about that argument?

Because you would think this would be a bipartisan issue to make cities affordable for folks. But what about his comments? issue to make cities affordable for folks. But what about his comments? No, I think it's bipartisan for people on the ground. We know that people with different politics in Miami-Dade County understand that people need time. The economics of Florida, where people work, don't make sense for the 20, 30, upwards of 70% rent increases that we've seen with little to no notice. And it's through the tenant bill of rights that we actually got 60 day notice so that people could have time and notice of rent increases of evictions that were coming. Previous to that, it was 15 days. And so we know that people on the ground, no matter where they are across the state,

needed and urged their elected officials to respond with the tenant bill of rights. And then even in Hialeah, we had a lot of folks experiencing doubling of the rent. And we went to Hialeah and we saw that they were also in support right before we went to the county. were also in support right before we got went to the county and so um this is again counter to what people want people who live in florida people who work in florida people who are raising their children in florida believe that as tenants they should also be protected in a state that overwhelmingly sides with landlords and we're not talking about your everyday mom and pop landlords who own one property. We're talking about your corporate landlords who overwhelmingly violate the rights of tenants, but by not repairing their properties, by not giving them notice. And we disagree with

that. All right. 305-995-1800. Matthew in Castlebury. Matthew, how are you? Go ahead. I'm doing pretty good. I just had a question about like the possibility that this actually stands up in a higher court if it was challenged, because it seems like the politicians that are trying to get this passed are ones that would be very upset if the federal government tried to step in on states' rights to regulate this kind of thing. So it just seems kind of hypocritical for them to come in and say that everyone in the state, no matter what their county or their local ordinance would want to be or has possibly even passed already, should conform to a much looser, much more landlord-friendly state law.

much more landlord-friendly state law. And it just seems like I would hope that this either doesn't pass or can get turned down by a higher court if that's possible. What are the chances that it becomes challenged from like these local governments that are obviously trying to pass tenant protection? Great question from Matthew in Castleberry here on the Florida Roundup from Florida Public Radio. Colleen Wright, Tampa Bay Times. This issue of preemption coming out of Tallahassee isn't just impacting tenants' rights in Florida cities. We could point to all manner of issues where the state legislature has preempted local governments, has told local governments home rule, which has long been a deeply held conservative value. They've said to these cities, no, home rule is no more.

So what about that caller's question? Why are we seeing this trend in Florida so aggressively and what are the chances of lawsuits on this? Absolutely. Great point. lawsuits on this. Absolutely. Great point. I was I was about to say that it's not just, you know, tenants, advocates who are upset or dismayed or livid about these protections that they fought for kind of being eliminated just like that if this gets passed. But it's also frustration for local control. You just heard a Republican mayor in Hialeah saying that he needs to enact this for his city. It's the same feeling here. Well, you know, we have a Republican mayor in Hialeah saying that he needs to enact this for his city. It's the same feeling here.

Well, you know, we have a Republican on city council. He was against his personal idea, but he is against the idea of preemption in general. And it gets to the point where what is the point of local control? As for pushing back, you know, local governments take it seriously when they say that they're stewards of taxpayer dollars, at least they're supposed to. So, you know, litigation could end up being, you know, thousands or maybe even millions of dollars of taxpayer dollars wasted. So nobody really wants to go down that route. There's also fear of being removed from office, like what we saw with the Hillsborough County state attorney with Andrew Warren.

It's a big uphill battle that we've seen that the state will pick these Attorney with Andrew Warren. It's a big uphill battle that we've seen that the state will pick these fights with local governments. And it's a matter of, at least from the politician's level, from how I've spoken with city council members about this, is that do you pick that fight and kind of raise a public stink about this for tenants' rights? Or do you try to work within the bounds of what you are allowed to do? And so I don't know if it's surprising to anyone that most people would rather not be removed from office and go the route of kind of the path of least resistance, of trying to do work without being preempted by the government or being removed from office. The number is 305-995-1800. We have Michael calling from Miami.

Michael, thanks for calling. You're on the line. Yeah, hi. Thank you for taking my call. I just wanted to have a different perspective from a small proprietorship that owns maybe 9, 10 buildings, 60, 70 rentals, family-run business. As I speak to you now, I'm in my pickup truck working on one of my properties. business. As I speak to you now, I'm in my pickup truck working on one of my properties. And while we charge below market rents because we like to have stability, it's no surprise to anyone that my insurance has doubled over the course of the year. Anytime I do a repair, it's astronomical,

the materials. Everything is super expensive. And yet, you know, to have and we try to keep the rents reasonable, but to put limits on me, most of these businesses that house people here are not multi-corporations and not bad guys. They're just working mom and pops, you know, that on paper, yeah, we're loaded. We got money, but in reality, we work on a salary, and we keep costs down, and we try to give good service, and it just isn't fair that every time I listen to a program, it just sounds like we're the bad guy. Like we're gouging people. We're not doing repairs when it's quite the opposite. I think.

Thank you for your call, Michael. And I will just mention for our listeners, this is not rent control at all. None of these bills are, are talking about rent control. Um, uh, Sandra, I want to go to you. Um, I mean, you built to get this off the ground in Miami-Dade County, really a grassroots local level movement to get this passed. What does it mean for that kind of mobilizations if the state just comes in after the fact and nullifies everything that you've done? Right, I think that we're organizers at the Miami Workers Center,

and we know that the communities that we're talking about are experiencing the pain of living in a state that don't have any protections for tenants or little to none. And so this is disheartening, and we organize and we go back to the drawing board and we continue to bring our issues forward and we continue to find a path to ensure that

our people are safe, they're protected, and they have a place to live. That is not negotiable for us. We believe housing is a human right, that people should be able to live, eat, breathe, play in the places where they're working. And unfortunately, we're seeing mass displacement in our in our county and throughout the state because people can't afford and they can't especially afford some of the housing that is available in the conditions that they're in. And if, you know, quite frankly, into the caller, I'm sure the caller believes that they're doing their best. And I'm sure there are landlords that are, and we are not talking about those landlords. We're talking about your corporate landlords who do do 80%, 70% rent hikes with 15 day notice. We think that's unconscionable, right? That shouldn't happen in our state. We're talking about folks who the ceiling has collapsed. Who's responsible when a ceiling collapsed, right? So those are the things that we're talking about. Thank you. I want to thank our guests. We have Sandra Denise just talking there, the executive director of the Miami

Workers Center, Colleen Wright, reporter with the Tampa Bay Times, and Alana Greer, director of the Community Justice Project. Thank you all three for coming on. And we'll be right back talking about hemp in Florida. Welcome back to the Florida Roundup. I'm Melissa Ross in Jacksonville. And I'm Danny Rivero in Miami. Melissa Ross in Jacksonville. And I'm Danny Rivero in Miami.

Florida lawmakers are considering a bill that would dramatically reduce the amount of THC allowed in retail hemp products. Supporters say it would establish a clear lane for the hemp sector, which some people have likened to the Wild West as it is right now. While it's a move that some business owners say would ruin their livelihoods. So what's this all about? Well, HB 1475 would limit the amount of THC in hemp products in the state to not exceed 5 milligrams per serving or 50 milligrams per package. It would also prohibit those products for anyone under the age of 21.

Supporters say the measure is to help protect children from hemp products. And just some numbers here. According to a report done by hemp business researcher Whitney Economics, the hemp industry employs more than 100,000 workers in Florida and generates $3.5 billion in wages. Yeah, big business. With more, let's welcome Sally Kent Peebles. She's a Florida attorney focusing on cannabis business and regulatory law at Vicente Cederberg LLP. Sally, hi, good to be with you. Good morning. What are your questions about hemp, Florida?

305-995-1800. And Sally, can you explain, there is a difference between hemp and other cannabis products, correct? Absolutely. So hemp is a species of hemp and other cannabis products, correct? Absolutely. So hemp is a species of the plant cannabis sativa. And cannabis sativa has hundreds of chemical compounds in it called cannabinoids. And two of those cannabinoids that get a lot of press are THC and CBD. And if a plant has over a certain percentage of THC, then that plant is referred to as marijuana.

Anything with under a certain threshold of THC is referred to as hemp. So that's really the difference between the two. And hemp is regulated by the Department of Ag, while marijuana is regulated by the Department of Health. What's the rationale behind this bill that these hemp products need to be out of the hands of miners? So historically, under our prior administration that was run by Nikki Freed and Holly Bell, you know, Florida had a very permissive interpretation of what novel and intoxicating cannabinoid products would be allowed to be sold in the state of Florida. And because of this, businesses from all over the U.S. flocked to open up shop in Florida as their states were figuring out how to really regulate these products. And now Florida has a new FDACS commissioner, Wilton Simpson, and as with any

new change of administration, that new administration is going to review their policies. And based on comments made by this commissioner at a press conference he held, and in light of this new hemp bill, it appears that this new administration strongly supports curbing the market as it has been allowed to exist thus far. And they really are focusing on prohibiting intoxicating cannabinoids. And the hemp program, as you pointed out, really started off with a bang, a big business. But what is the status of the hemp program today? You know, currently there are 600 hemp cultivation licenses, and I believe there's over 9,000

permitted hemp businesses that are selling hemp products across the state. As you mentioned earlier, you know, over 100,000 Floridians are employed by the hemp industry. And I have read before that the hemp program has a $13.7 billion economic impact on the state and over $3 billion, you know, in wages. So I think what's key to understand here is that they're one of the cannabinoids that a lot of these hemp companies are selling is called Delta-8. And Delta-8 is found in hemp, but in very small trace amounts. So generally, to make it cost effective, they convert CBD to Delta-8. And that's just how it's made. And a lot of these products that are making money are Delta 8 products.

This new bill is, by definition, they are prohibiting synthetically created cannabinoids. So Delta 8 would no longer be able to be sold in Florida. And that's why a lot of these hemp businesses are upset, because what they're trying to sell will no longer be permitted here. And it will most likely make them close up shop and leave. And, you know, just to help people conceptualize this, you know, there's a smoke shop around the corner from my house. I go in there every once in a while. There are Delta aid things on the counters. I mean, if this does pass basically everything on those counters that I'm talking about, that would just be banned. It would be illegal. What's legal today would be illegal

tomorrow. Yes, it would. It would. It would certainly change the landscape of what they're able to be sold. I mean, they could still sell some hemp products. And for this bill, it would be only to those over 21 and older. They would have to change packaging and labeling so it would not be attracted to children. And while that may seem smart, it also is going to place a lot of, you know, a lot of expenses on these companies to make these changes. And they would go into effect July 1st, 2023. But I also I think it's important for your listeners to understand that just because this hemp bill has been proposed, it certainly doesn't mean it's going to pass. You know, bills were passed. Bills are proposed all the times that fail. And there is a ton of pushback, understandably, from the hemp industry on this.

But I think the primary takeaway is that this administration is indicating that they intend to curb the program away from how it's currently being run. Whether this bill passes or not, we'll see how it may change some rules implementing the hemp bill moving forward. You're listening to the Florida Roundup from Florida Public Radio. What about the push to legalize marijuana in the state for recreational use? Where is that? I think that's going swimmingly well. Smart and Safe Florida did file the adult personal use of marijuana and they have been gathering signatures over the past year. They have as of a couple of weeks ago, it looks like they have about six hundred and thirty five thousand signatures and they need eight hundred and ninety one thousand to be able to submit it to the Florida AG, which will then petition the state Supreme Court for an advisory opinion. That is the point where the previous two pushes to legalize stalled because they did not. The Supreme Court did not believe that they passed the clarity requirement.

Now, we would if we became a recreational cannabis state, that is now what? About 20 states have reached that benchmark. Is that right, Sally? Absolutely. It's been 20 and we would be the 21st, hopefully. But, you know, we might be on the ballot at the same time as other states as well. And interesting. And Sally, I mean, where is Governor DeSantis on this? I mean, where is Governor DeSantis on this? And I ask it because when he came into office, he did break with the administration of Rick Scott saying, you know, we need to get moving on medical marijuana. He hasn't talked a whole lot on hemp, at least that I've seen.

I mean, where is the governor's office on all this? You know, I haven't talked to them about the hemp issue, you know, surrounding this new bill, but I think DeSantis was hired to make sure what the people vote in is passed. I think when he was brought in, the voter initiative constitutional amendment was not making progress forward. So he understandably wanted to make sure it did. So he also allowed for flour where it was not originally allowed to be sold. When it comes to adult use, my understanding is they might not be very excited about it. But I think that if they, you know, Florida voters were presented with this option and they passed, that he would be diligent and make sure it was implemented in a very reasonable way. you know, be diligent and make sure it was implemented in a very reasonable way. Well, as you've talked about before, this is one of those rare bipartisan issues, isn't it, where there's widespread support for full legalization and making these products more

available? Yes. So I would say about two thirds Americans support legalization for the recent polls. And, you know, this this includes a majority in every age group, every education level, every income level that has been surveyed. It's just no longer really a stoner issue. And notably, 48% of Republicans support the legalization of marijuana. I think it's not just a body autonomy issue. It's also, you know, if people really think that this substance is an issue, then why the heck would you want a criminal to be the only people in charge of it, right? You know, it should be sold in a regulated environment by someone who's testing that product, by someone who's know, a company that's going to card someone when they walk into their store and make sure they're over 21 to buy medical marijuana. So I think I think that it's a it's a reasonable step forward if the state does decide to to legalize. And I hope they do. And it's kind of an irony or I don't know if it's an irony or what to call it.

It's kind of an irony, or I don't know if it's an irony or what to call it, but marijuana dealers, street-level dealers, are actually for keeping it illegal because it keeps them in business. Is that right, Sally? marijuana because we're really taking money out of their pockets and putting it in the state coffers where we can put that money towards recreational facilities, redoing streets. I mean, the sky's the limit for what this income could do for the state. And it's not, I think people need to realize that these products and marijuana is here to stay. It's going to be sold. It's going to be consumed. Let's just make sure that it's sold and consumed in the safest possible way. And do you feel that's being done with the vertical integration setup that we have now for licensing and distribution in the state? I do. I do think that's a great way of doing it.

That way we know, we identify who's doing it through background checks. We have strict security guidelines. We have labeling and testing requirements. None of those things exist in the illicit market right now. And, you know, I think that while Florida does have, you know, limit ownership to only a few at this time, you know, we're all just trying to figure out how to regulate this and the state's doing the best it can. I do hope that new entrants will be allowed. They are having an upcoming application process that's literally in two weeks. I think the deadline for submitting is April 28th. They'll be issuing an additional 22 licenses. So that means the medical marijuana program in

florida is about to double in the next year about to double well thank you as always for being our cannabis connection she's sally kent pebbles she is an expert on cannabis law with vicente cedarburg thanks for joining us thank you and that's our show the florida roundup is produced by wjct Public Media in Jacksonville and WLRN Public Media in Miami. Heather Schatz, Bridget O'Brien, and Natu Tway are producers. WLRN's vice president of radio and our technical director is Peter Mayers. Engineering help from Doug Peterson, Charles Michaels, and Brady Corum.

Richard Ives answers the phones. Our theme music is provided by Miami jazz guitarist Aaron Leibos at AaronLeibos.com. I'm Danny Rivero. And I'm Melissa Ross, and thanks for listening, calling, and tweeting the show. We'll be back next Friday at noon. Have a great weekend.