Last Call for 2.3.26 – 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 in the Sunshine State advanced to Committees Tuesday, despite lingering questions about whether it meaningfully addresses the security threats it claims to target.

SB 1178 bundles together several policy aims under the banner of national security, including restrictions on access to certain facilities, new disclosure and registration requirements tied to foreign interests, and limits on how state funds may be used to purchase or deploy security and surveillance technology.

The bill’s coalition of supporters, however, is strikingly idiosyncratic — and often incoherent. Some backers framed the proposal as a necessary step to shut the Chinese Communist Party out of Florida’s infrastructure and public institutions. Others went much further, invoking a purported 1993 backroom pact involving Bill Clinton, the Muslim Brotherhood, and an alleged long-term effort to undermine American values from within.

Those narratives have little in common beyond a shared sense of alarm. They also bear only a loose relationship to the bill’s text, which does not reference religious organizations, historical political agreements, or clandestine ideological takeovers.

Instead, the bill seeks to address foreign influence through a mix of disclosure requirements and procurement rules built on assumptions about technology risk that became outdated in the early aughts.

The approach treats influence as something that can be screened out at the front end rather than as an ongoing challenge shaped by how modern systems are actually used and managed.

Simply put, if SB 1178 had been in effect during the Kaseya ransomware attack — one of the largest supply-chain cyber incidents on record, and one where a Florida-based, U.S.-owned company served as the vector — the bill would not have prevented it.

Kaseya is one of many cybersecurity incidents that spread through trusted U.S. companies and ordinary update pipelines, not through foreign hardware labeled as a threat.

SB 1178 does little to address those realities. Instead, it redraws procurement boundaries and disclosure obligations in ways that are easy to signal and enforce, while leaving the most common sources of risk largely untouched.

Still, its popularity among those who ascribe to the Islamist “long game” theory is undeniable.

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A measure that would allow high school students to earn community service hours volunteering at polling places cleared its final Committee on Tuesday, positioning it for consideration by the full Senate.

Sponsored by Sen. Clay Yarborough, SB 564 authorizes high school students who are registered or preregistered to vote to assist poll workers in a volunteer capacity, carving out an exception in state law that otherwise bars election officials from accepting donated labor or other private assistance to run elections.

Duval County Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland, whom Yarborough credited with bringing the idea forward, told Committee members the proposal grew out of a personal conversation with his oldest grandson while reviewing potential community service opportunities.

“We were looking over the school’s website of the different community projects he could do to get his community service hours, and many of them were very meaningful,” Holland said. “But I saw nothing that would instill my passion, which is elections and running elections.”

Among those testifying in support was Jacqueline Steele, North Florida field manager for Equal Ground, who said the change would provide high schoolers “exactly the kind of structured, supervised, community-centered opportunity we should be offering our young people.”

She encouraged lawmakers to consider honing the bill to ensure students are appropriately supervised and receive adequate training on topics such as voter confidentiality.

Several speakers noted that Supervisors of Elections already provide training for poll workers and said similar oversight could apply to student volunteers, but they otherwise stuck to the same themes: that it would boost civic literacy while providing Election Supervisors with much-needed support.

After clearing Rules, SB 564 now heads to the Senate floor. If approved and signed into law, the measure would take effect July 1, 2026.  

Evening Reads

—”Donald Trump wants to ‘nationalize the voting,’ seeking to grab states’ power” via Mariana Alfaro of The Washington Post

—”Trump’s most extreme election talk yet — and why it won’t happen” via Chris Cillizza of So What

—“Oh, just Trump saying Republicans should ‘nationalize’ and ‘take over’ elections” via Ryan Bort of Rolling Stone

—”The paramilitary ICE and CBP units at the center of Minnesota’s killings” via Ali Winston of WIRED

—”How DHS spent $35 billion since Trump retook office” via Shane Shifflett and Nate Rattner of The Wall Street Journal

—”In under 500 words, a judge weaponized wit to free the child detained by ICE” via A.O. Scott of The New York Times

—”The quiet reason why Trump is losing Gen Z” via Rachel Janfaza of Vox

—”Thoroughbred horse racing ‘decoupling’ measure clears final House Committee” via Janelle Irwin Taylor of Florida Politics

—”Medicaid work requirements in the works in Florida?” via Christine Sexton of Florida Phoenix

—”Glock in the flock: Church volunteer security exemption heads to Senate floor” via Drew Wilson of Florida Politics

Quote of the Day

“I want to welcome you to the age and era of the Jetsons.”

— Sen. Gayle Harrell, on a bill aimed at bringing vertiports to Florida.

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.

Send an Anchors Away to the Florida Maritime Partnership, which docked in Tallahassee to spread the word about the industry’s role in keeping the fuel supply strong after disaster strikes.

Serve Sen. Shevrin Jones a Put Me In Coach for carrying his bill to prevent high school coaches from being punished for helping student-athletes through another Committee.

Have a Horsefeather waiting for Rep. Adam Anderson, whose decoupling bill is rounding the bend after clearing its final Committee.