Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.

First Shot

Gov. Ron DeSantis has appointed two new members and reappointed one incumbent to the Tallahassee State College District Board of Trustees.

DeSantis named Sara Bayliss and Jonathan Rees to the Board and reappointed Karen Moore, according to an announcement from the Governor’s Office. All three appointments are subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.

Bayliss serves as a College Admissions Advisor at St. John Paul II Catholic High School in Tallahassee and is also a Counselor with Game Plan College Admissions Counseling. She is active in education and athletics policy as a member of the Florida High School Athletic Association Board of Directors. Bayliss earned a bachelor’s degree in management information systems and French from the University of Iowa and a master’s degree in business administration from Florida State University.

Rees is a Partner at SBM Partners and brings extensive government affairs experience to the Board. His background includes serving as Director of State Government Affairs for Anheuser-Busch, Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs at the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and Legislative Assistant to former state Representative and U.S. Rep. Ross Spano. Rees earned his bachelor’s degree in international affairs from Florida State University.

Moore, who was reappointed, is the CEO and founder of The Moore Agency. She currently serves as Chair of the Florida College System Foundation Board of Directors and sits on the Boards of Directors for the Florida Chamber of Commerce and BioFlorida. Moore earned her bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Central Florida.

The Tallahassee State College District Board of Trustees oversees policy, governance, and long-term planning for the institution.

___

The House is planning a lighter dose of floor action but a packed slate of Committee work during the opening week of the 2026 Legislative Session, according to a tentative schedule posted online.

The 60-day Session will convene Jan. 13, with Gov. DeSantis scheduled to deliver his annual State of the State address at 11 a.m. in the House chamber. House members are slated to return to the floor Jan. 15, while more than 20 Subcommittee meetings are scheduled across Jan. 13 and Jan. 14.

The early emphasis on Committee activity contrasts slightly with the Senate’s approach, where leadership has signaled a desire to move quickly on priority legislation during the opening week. The Senate has already blocked out floor sessions for Jan. 14 and Jan. 15 as it prepares to take up President Ben Albritton’s “rural renaissance” package.

That proposal, which stalled in the House during the 2025 Session after being split into multiple bills, is expected to be among the first major items considered in the upper chamber this year.

Evening Reads

—“Second big batch of Jeffrey Epstein files includes many mentions of Donald Trump” via Matt Viser and Aaron Schaffer of The Washington Post

—”Takeaways from the FBI’s second batch of Epstein files” via Becky Peterson, Brian Whitton and Sadie Gurman of The Wall Street Journal

—”House Republicans aren’t having any fun” via Elaine Godfrey and Russell Berman of The Atlantic

—”Is CBS News censoring 60 Minutes?” via Andrew Prokop of Vox

—”Big Balls was just the beginning” via Vittoria Elliott of WIRED

—”After power outage, San Francisco wonders: Can robot taxis handle a big earthquake?” via Soumya Karlamangla of The New York Times

—”As Orlando woos overseas visitors, Trump’s social media plan for tourists sparks concerns” via Skyler Swisher of the Orlando Sentinel

—“A mystery: Why are sharks suddenly snatching so many fish from anglers?” via Bill Kearney of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

—”Adam Anderson refiles thoroughbred horse racing ‘decoupling’ bill” via Janelle Irwin Taylor of Florida Politics

—”Ben Sasse announces stage 4 pancreatic cancer diagnosis” via Jesse Scheckner of Florida Politics

Quote of the Day

“I already had a death sentence before last week, too — we all do.”

— Former U.S. Senator and UF President Ben Sasse, on his pancreatic cancer diagnosis.

Put it on the Tab

Look to your left, then look to your right. If you see one of these people at your happy hour haunt, flag down the bartender and put one of these on your tab. Recipes included, just in case the Cocktail Codex fell into the well.

Order a Horse’s Neck for Rep. Adam Anderson, who is once again shouldering the effort to decouple thoroughbred racing at Florida pari-mutuels.

Americans were served a welcome Surprise when economic estimates painted an unexpectedly positive picture of U.S. GDP.

Attorney General James Uthmeier keeps handing out Jail Birds to predators, most recently with a 60-year sentence for a Lehigh Acres man convicted on child pornography-related charges.

Breakthrough Insights

Tune In

The Florida Panthers face a significant test as they travel to Raleigh, North Carolina, to face the Carolina Hurricanes tonight (7 p.m. ET, WSFL, WHDT, WFTX, PanthersPlus.TV).

Florida (19-14-2) sits fifth in the Atlantic Division and 10th in the Eastern Conference. If the season ended today, the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions would not qualify for the postseason. Fortunately for the Panthers, the season is not quite halfway through, so there is time for improvement. 

It has been a challenging season for the Panthers, who lost two major stars to injury, Aleksander Barkov (season-ending knee injury) and Matthew Tkachuk (offseason surgery). Their absences have disrupted the team’s cohesion, affecting the play of usually reliable stars like Sam Reinhardt and Carter Verhaeghe. 

Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, typically a standout performer, has struggled as well. 

So, is there hope for the Panthers? 

Tkachuk is on track to return to the ice this season, according to head coach Paul Maurice. That could help. And recently, the Panthers have won seven of the last nine games. For now, Florida must find a way to contend until help arrives.

___

Last Call is published by Peter Schorsch, assembled and edited by Phil Ammann and Drew Wilson, with contributions from the staff of Florida Politics.

Venezuela’s parliament on Tuesday approved a measure that criminalizes a broad range of activities that can hinder navigation and commerce in the South American country, such as the seizure of oil tankers.

The bill — introduced, debated and approved within two days in the National Assembly — follows this month’s seizures by U.S. forces of two tankers carrying Venezuelan oil in international waters. The seizures are the latest strategy in U.S. President Donald Trump’s four-month pressure campaign on Venezuela’s leader Nicolás Maduro.

The tankers are part of what the Trump administration has said is a fleet Venezuela uses to evade U.S. economic sanctions.

The unicameral assembly, which is controlled by Venezuela’s ruling party, did not publish drafts on Tuesday nor the final version of the measure. But as read on the floor, the bill calls for fines and prison sentences of up to 20 years for anyone who promotes, requests, supports, finances or participates in “acts of piracy, blockades or other international illegal acts” against commercial entities operating with the South American country.

Venezuela’s political opposition, including Nobel Peace laureate María Corina Machado, has expressed support for Trump’s Venezuela policy, including the seizure of tankers.

The bill, which now awaits Maduro’s signature, also instructs the executive branch to come up with “incentives and mechanisms for economic, commercial and other protections” for national or foreign entities doing business with Venezuela in the event of piracy activities, a maritime blockade or other unlawful acts.

The U.S. Coast Guard on Saturday seized a Panama-flagged vessel called Centuries that officials said was part of the fleet moving sanctioned cargo. With assistance from the U.S. Navy, it seized a rogue tanker called Skipper on Dec. 10. That ship was registered in Panama.

Trump, after that first seizure, said the U.S. would carry out a “blockade” of Venezuela. He has repeatedly said that Maduro’s days in power are numbered.

“If he wants to do something, if he plays tough, it’ll be the last time he’ll ever be able to play tough,” Trump said of Maduro Monday as he took a break from his Florida vacation to announce plans for the Navy to build a new, large warship.

___

Republished with permission of The Associated Press.