Speaking during the confirmation hearing for Dr. Marty Makary, President Donald Trump’s pick to head the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody honed in on a problem she tackled in her previous job as Florida’s Attorney General: dangerous, and illegal, Chinese vapes.

Makary, a surgeon at Johns Hopkins, is widely expected to be confirmed to the role, and is one of the less controversial picks coming out of the new Trump administration.

He faced a lot of tough questions on things like abortion pill access and vaccines during his hearing, but Moody took a different approach during her questioning.

“First, I want to talk to you about what is going on with the FDA and its burying its head in the sand about illegal, chemically ridden, extraordinarily high amounts of nicotine, Chinese vapes that are flooding the United States market,” she said, pointing to flavored vapes found in convenience stores throughout the U.S. despite lack of regulatory oversight and, in at least some cases, the products being outright illegal.

“All of the manufacturers there of these chemically ridden vapes have now flooded our market and now are addicting our children, much like we’re seeing this in, in many other ways … in harmful substance coming from China and they’re not doing much about it, fentanyl, etc.,” Moody added.

Making nice, Makary nodded to Moody’s status as a proud baseball mom, prompting her to say it was “on the bleachers at a baseball game” where she first heard about the problem with Chinese vapes, before getting more serious on the issue.

“I think there are four new vaping stores that have popped up in my neighborhood all in the last few years,” Makary began, acknowledging the problem.

Makary admitted that he hasn’t gone into any of them, but said she was right about products from China flooding the market.

“We have no idea what’s in these products, and public health is not even going to be able to study them because it takes so long for public health research to catch up, but it’s very concerning and it’s not right that they’re banned,” he said.

Makary offered one suggestion: using the Office of Inspections and Investigations, in collaboration with the Department of Justice and other law enforcement, to target illegal products.

The issue is big in Florida, with Republican lawmakers state Sen. Keith Perry and state Rep. Toby Overdorf sponsoring legislation (SB 1006, HB 1007) this year to crack down on illicit vape products.

The Florida Retail Federation has reported that at least $363 million in illegal vape products were sold in Florida just last year, ranking Florida No. 1 in illegal vape sales. Florida sits at 20% above the national average in illegal vape sales, making up a whopping 58% of overall vape sales in the state.

And Julio Fuentes, President and CEO of the Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, has focused on the issue too, with an op-ed in The Floridian noting Trump’s opportunity through Makary on tobacco policy.

Instead of focusing on “prohibitionist” policies, Fuente wrote that Makary could establish “scientific consensus around tobacco harm reduction,” meaning alternatives to things like cigarettes.

“Research has well established that vapor and heat-not-burn technologies are far less harmful than traditional cigarettes. And, new products like nicotine pouches are even less harmful, in some cases on par with traditional cessation products like nicotine gum,” he wrote.

His point was aligned with many in the smoking alternative camp, that by adequately regulating things like vapes, consumers could have access to safer alternatives to smoking, including by removing unregulated and harmful vape products from shelves.

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The Senate Committee on Commerce and Tourism advanced a measure Monday that focuses on minimum wage requirements for certain employees in Florida.

Fort Myers Republican Sen. Jonathan Martin filed the bill (SB 676). While making its way through committee, Martin introduced an amendment that clarifies that an employee must knowingly and voluntarily give up their right to receive minimum wages. If that individual is under the age 0f 18, it requires that the individual’s parent or legal guardian signs off on their choice.

“The Florida Constitution requires that employers pay a certain amount, currently set at $13 an hour for employees,” Martin said. “But it does not require employees to accept that amount if they choose to waive that right. This bill would allow employees, through a framework, to waive that right if they so choose. We need this bill to ensure that there is a framework to ensure that employees are knowingly and voluntarily giving up that right.”

The bill would exempt employers from being required to pay the minimum wage to employees who participate in structured work-study, internship, pre-apprenticeship, apprenticeship programs, or similar work-based learning opportunities.

Kissimmee Democratic Sen. Kristen Arrington questioned why an employee would want to waive their rights to receive minimum wage.

Martin responded by saying that often if someone wants to learn a trade, they will likely need to go to a learning institution, take out loans, and wouldn’t make any money while they were a student.

“This gives an individual the freedom to at an employer’s place of business, and say ‘hey, I’m willing to sweep floors and learn the job, I’m willing to be a hand while you’re working on engines and hold a flashlight for you, I’m willing to learn your business’ in exchange for experience and skills they could then transfer into the workplace,” Martin said.

Martin added that he has spoken to individuals who want an opportunity to learn on the job, especially for young people.

“There’s missed opportunities for teenagers, for people who grew up like we did, they could go down to the store, they could make some money to supplement what their parents are already making, and those opportunities don’t exist anymore because of the high hurdle to enter the workforce,” Martin said.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was enacted in 1938 to prescribe federal standards for minimum wage, overtime, recordkeeping and child labor. States were prohibited from paying less than $7.25 an hour to nonexempt employees as of 2009. The FLSA includes several exemptions from the federal minimum wage that are not legally required to be paid the minimum hourly wage. Employers are able to pay subminimum wages for certain classes of workers under the FLSA.

This includes, but is not limited to — youth employees under 20 for their first 90 days of employment, student employees who receive a special certificate from the Department of Labor to work part-time in a vocational training program, full time students with a special certification who are employed in retail/service establishments, agricultural occupations, institutes of higher education, individuals with disabilities who have an impaired earning capacity due to their disability, and employees who receive tips as part of their job.

Sarasota Republican Sen. Joe Gruters said the bill was a “slippery slope”, but he was willing to still support the bill.

“I think it’s a slippery slope … I think its admirable to try to set up a situation to where people that are under the age of 18 for these work-studies and apprenticeships that they can do that, and the companies are willing to hire more of these people, but I think it’s tough,” Gruters said, adding that some additional guardrails may need to be added.

The bill passed by a vote of 5-3 along party lines and will now move to the Senate Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee.

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

First Shot

With the 2025 Legislative Session underway, Florida TaxWatch will host its annual State of the Taxpayer Dinner tomorrow night.

The event will take place at the Goodwood Museum & Gardens in Tallahassee, providing a platform for the state’s elected leaders and policymakers to engage directly with the concerns of hardworking taxpayers and their families.

The evening will commence with a reception from 5 to 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner and a program from 6:30 to 8 p.m. 

The dinner’s confirmed speakers include Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, Senate Democratic Leader Jason Pizzo, Florida TaxWatch President and CEO Dominic Calabro, and Executive Vice President and General Counsel Jeff Kottkamp.

Florida TaxWatch has been a nonpartisan, independent government watchdog for over 40 years. Its focus is on improving government accountability and productivity. The organization researches to assess the impact of fiscal and economic policies on taxpayers and businesses.

Media representatives are invited to attend, and a riser and press feed box are available on-site. An agenda will be provided to those who RSVP before the event. Prospective attendees can contact Christina Johnson via [email protected] to RSVP.

Evening Reads

—“Thirty charts that show how COVID changed everything” via Aatish Bhatia and Irineo Cabreros of The New York Times

—“The 28 wackiest lines from Donald Trump’s interview with Maria Bartiromo” via Chris Cillizza of So What

—”People with disabilities rely on Uber. Could a federal rule limit access?” via Shauna Muckle of the Tampa Bay Times

—”Trump’s $5 million gold citizenship card: What South Florida advisers say about the plan” via David Lyons of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

—”Inside America’s fluoride rebellion” via Kris Maher of The Wall Street Journal

—”The life and mystery of Luigi Mangione” via Lorena O’Neil of Rolling Stone

—”We got rid of acid rain. Now something scarier is falling from the sky.” via Benji Jones of Vox

—”‘Wake up Democrats!’: Frustration boils over with party’s response to Trump” via Steven Lemongello of the Orlando Sentinel

—”Juul Labs suit: AG announces $79 million settlement over marketing to kids claims” via Jackie Llanos of the Florida Phoenix

—”Silver Bulletin College Basketball ratings” via Nate Silver of the Silver Bulletin