Last Call for 2.2.26 – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida

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

First Shot

A wide-ranging bill aimed at curbing foreign influence across the Florida government is set for its second Committee hearing this week after zooming through its first stop with little debate.

SB 1178, which cleared the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee last week, next heads to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The legislation is expansive, touching on election law, ethics standards, contracting, higher education partnerships, and criminal enforcement.

At its core, the bill seeks to limit the reach of governments designated as “foreign countries of concern” — a list that includes China, Russia, Iran, and others — into Florida’s political and economic systems. Supporters frame the measure as a proactive response to foreign government efforts to influence subnational governments across the United States.

To that end, the bill would create new registration and disclosure requirements for agents of foreign countries of concern and foreign-supported political organizations, expand ethics training for public officials to include identifying foreign influence campaigns, and tighten restrictions on gifts, travel, and other benefits tied to foreign governments.

SB 1178 would also limit partnerships between Florida higher education institutions and certain foreign governments and require the termination of specific existing arrangements. Additional provisions address critical infrastructure, including new reporting and registration requirements for business entities with foreign ties and enhanced criminal penalties tied to foreign influence activity.

A slice of the wide-ranging bill addresses government contracting, yet those provisions have drawn attention for their broad language. The legislation would prohibit state and local governments from entering, renewing, or extending specific contracts, including for information technology, with entities tied to a foreign country of concern or a foreign source of concern — a term that can consist of U.S.-based affiliates of global companies. 

Supporters describe the contracting language as a safeguard against data and infrastructure risks. Critics argue that the definitions could have unintended consequences, particularly for agencies and institutions that rely on global vendors or longstanding partnerships.

The bill advanced with a unanimous vote in its first Committee stop, but it may get a closer examination when it goes before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.

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A bill aimed at closing a gap in Florida’s digital voyeurism law advanced unanimously in Committee on Tuesday, after lawmakers were shown video of a South Florida homeowner whose neighbor repeatedly aimed cameras into her backyard.

SB 1536, sponsored by Sen. Jason Pizzo, would expand the legal definition of a “reasonable expectation of privacy” to explicitly include privately fenced yards. Current statute protects spaces such as bedrooms and bathrooms, but does not clearly extend that expectation to outdoor areas, even when surveillance is targeted and sustained.

During the Committee hearing, Pizzo played a brief television news segment documenting a case in which a woman discovered multiple cameras — some mounted on poles — pointed toward her backyard. According to the report, police told the homeowner they had no legal recourse because the surveillance did not occur inside the home.

Pizzo said the situation exposed a gray area in the law that allows for invasive monitoring without consequence, even when the intent is clearly voyeuristic rather than incidental.

“All Floridians should enjoy an expectation of privacy,” Pizzo said. “All of my neighbors at home and here in Tallahassee have cameras, but we all have a sort of an agreement and expectation that they’re pointed at areas, lanes, side areas and alleyways or intrusions to their property, not to spy and be creepy with each other.”

The bill makes a narrowly tailored change, amending the definition of “reasonable expectation of privacy” to include a “privately fenced yard,” bringing it into line with other protected spaces already listed in statute. The underlying offense and penalty structure for digital voyeurism — currently a third-degree felony — would remain unchanged.

Lawmakers asked limited questions, including whether the bill would apply to drones. Pizzo said the measure focuses on fixed-position surveillance equipment, consistent with the existing statute.

SB 1536 cleared the Committee with a unanimous vote and now heads to the Senate Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice.

Evening Reads

—“Donald Trump’s chaotic governing style is hurting the value of the U.S. dollar” via David J. Lynch of The Washington Post

—”For some Americans, the end of Obamacare subsidies means falling off a financial cliff” via Irena Hwang, Josh Katz and Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times

—”Don’t discount American democracy’s resilience” via Nate Silver of the Silver Bulletin

—”He can’t stop needling Trump, even days before a White House meeting” via Annie Correal and Max Bearak of The New York Times

—“Minneapolis is showing a new kind of anti-Trump resistance” via Christian Paz of Vox

—”Do you feel the AGI yet?” via Matteo Wong of The Atlantic

—”DraftKings and FanDuel spending millions on 2026 Midterms, new filings reveal” via Judd Legum of Popular Information

—“The lesson of ‘Groundhog Day’ America refuses to learn” via Chris Cillizza of So What

—”Ron DeSantis still in no rush to roll out property tax elimination proposal” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics

—“Another tort tussle in the state House” via Christine Sexton of the Florida Phoenix

Quote of the Day

“When politicians are this desperate to block the ballot, it tells you exactly who they’re afraid of: the people.”

— FDP Chair Nikki Fried, after no citizen initiatives made the 2026 ballot.

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.

We’re a third of the way through Session, but Gov. Ron DeSantis is still enjoying Snooze Alarms instead of rolling out his property tax proposal.

Enjoy a Knife Fight while watching Attorney General James Uthmeier and Rep. Alex Andrade duke it out over an ongoing lawsuit against Planned Parenthood.

Send a Grass Roots to Paul Renner’s gubernatorial campaign for landing endorsements from Florida Trump Field Director Ken Mayo and a handful of others involved in Trump’s Florida campaigns.