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Adam Anderson’s thoroughbred horse racing bill advances despite industry opposition

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The House Commerce Committee advanced legislation Monday that would align the thoroughbred horse racing industry with all other live gaming in Florida.

Tarpon Springs Republican Adam Anderson introduced the bill (HB 105) and said the legislation was designed to support the horse racing community by decoupling racing from other gambling like slots and cards.

“Members, at the last committee stop for this bill, I presented the bill as a solution to help align the thoroughbred racing industry, with all other live gaming in the state of Florida, and to better support the thoroughbred community by decoupling racing with other games like slots and cards,” Anderson said. “In 2021, this body decoupled all other parimutuels operating in the state from their live events, all others except for thoroughbred racing. Simply put, the bill applies the core principles that we value here in the free state of Florida, to the thoroughbred community.”

Anderson said that the bill’s journey through committee resulted in conversations with people representing many facets of the industry, noting that he had taken everything they said into consideration.

“During that meeting we heard a lot of public testimony, we heard some folks that supported the bill, we also heard from some horse owners and breeders that had some major concerns about the bill,” Anderson said. “So … we met with a number of stakeholders, and we listened to their concerns. So, this … is the product of those conversations.”

Anderson said the bill would provide a guarantee that the horse racing industry in Florida would continue for at least the next five years.

“It decouples both Gulfstream Park and Tampa Downs, allowing racing and gaming to operate independently in the state, but it adds a trifecta of support to the thoroughbred community,” Anderson said. “First, it requires tracks to provide a three-year notice to the thoroughbred industry, if they elect to stop racing, and it also mandates that such notice cannot be given until July 1st of 2027, guaranteeing racing into the future and guaranteeing a minimum of five years of visibility in the thoroughbred industry.”

If passed into law, Anderson claimed permits would be able to be moved between different facilities and would provide new opportunities while maximizing transparency.

“[The bill] creates the ability to move existing thoroughbred permits to different facilities,” Anderson said. “This provides flexibility and creates new possibilities for the thoroughbred racing industry … it maximizes the utilization, effectiveness, and probably most importantly, the transparency of the nearly $14 million that’s allocated to breeders and owners with very prescriptive language on how the Florida Gaming Control Commission must support the industry.”

Anderson noted the birth rate of foals in Florida is significantly lower than other states.

“That tells me that we’re doing something wrong here in the state when it comes to breeding and supporting the industry … In the early 2000’s, Florida-bred foals were around 4,500 foals annually, but last year there was only 975,” Anderson said. “So, it’s a troubling trend and this bill is structured in a way to help support that part of the industry; to help prop it up so it can stand independently from slots and cards and thrive on its own.”

St. Petersburg Democratic Rep. Michele Rayner pushed back and said that it appears that there would only be one or two entities that would actually benefit from the bill’s passing.

Anderson refuted this and said it would benefit the whole industry.

“This bill will provide the ability for those owners to be able to transfer their licenses so if they don’t want to stay in the horse business,” Anderson said. “Right now, they have to, and the only option is that they just close up shop. This would provide a pathway for them to transfer that license to someone else who might want to or move their license to another location that makes more economic sense for their business model.”

However, opponents of the bill, which included veterinarians, breeders, and trainers, said that if it becomes law, it would devastate the industry.

Bill Russell, a veterinarian from Peterson Smith Equine Hospital in Ocala, stressed to the committee that there are thousands of people who rely on the industry for their livelihoods.

“It’s likely with the passage of this bill, I would have to lay off 40 to 50% of my workforce as the Florida Thoroughbred Industry contracts,” Russell said.

Teresa Palmer, the owner of a 125-acre breeding and training facility in Morriston, also spoke in opposition, telling the committee it would hurt her business if passed.

“We are a small business, and HB 105 would devastate not only our small business, but the racing industry in Florida,” Palmer said. “Anything that has been decoupled stops existing, and that’s the fact. So, we ask that you please consider not only the economic impact, but the family impact that this bill would have on our beautiful state.”

Saffie Joseph Jr., a prominent trainer at Gulfstream Park, opposed the bill in an op-ed published by Florida Politics on March 4.

“This bill threatens an entire industry that has long been a feather in Florida’s cap, and it undercuts years of hard work by so many of us who have dedicated our lives to these majestic animals,” Joseph said. “It’s going to hurt people like me and my family, for whom the horse is lifestyle, passion, and, finally, a way to make a living … The future of Florida racing is on the line. Let’s stand together to protect it.”

Despite objections, the committee OK’d the bill. It now heads to the House floor.

At the bill’s passing, Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners Association CEO Lonny Powell released a statement expressing dismay.

“Today’s vote in the House Commerce Committee was disappointing,” Powell said. “Let me be clear: The latest changes to HB 105 are not a compromise — they are designed to scuttle Florida’s vital Thoroughbred industry. No matter how our opponents try to spin it, this bill decouples live racing from voter-approved gaming requirements. This means fewer races, fewer jobs, and fewer opportunities for the hardworking Floridians devoted to this industry, including the passionate horsemen and women from the farms and barns who testified today.”

Powell claimed the bill would gut the industry and send jobs and opportunities to Canada.

“If this bill passes, it will ripple across the entire state economy, gutting a major industry and sending Florida jobs and horses to other states and our dollars to Toronto,” Powell said. “This industry has helped power Florida’s economy for generations, and we must not allow bad special-interest policy to dismantle it.”


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Top House Democrats seek DOGE details, questioning if it operates ‘outside the bounds’ of U.S. law

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Top Democrats on the House Judiciary and House Oversight committees have filed a lengthy Freedom of Information Act request questioning whether the Trump administration’s DOGE Service is operating “outside the bounds of federal law,” The Associated Press has learned.

U.S. Reps. Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Gerald Connolly of Virginia are seeking detailed information about the authority of the Department of Government Efficiency Service, including billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk and some 40 other people, to carry out firings of federal workers and dismantling of federal agencies.

They also are requesting detailed information about DOGE’s access to sensitive data, its use of artificial intelligence, the resumes and training of its staff and its communications related to Musk-held entities including SpaceX, Starlink and Tesla.

“The Administration and Mr. Musk have hidden behind a veil of secrecy as they systematically dismantle the federal government of the United States,” the Democrats wrote in a letter to DOGE Administrator Amy Gleason accompanying the FOIA request, which was obtained by the AP. “The American people deserve answers, and we are committed to using every tool at our disposal to expose the truth about DOGE’s operations.”

They are seeking expedited review of the request, with a response within 20 days.

The FOIA request is the latest in an escalating confrontation between Congress and the executive branch as President Donald Trump is rapidly slashing routine aspects of the federal government by doing away with thousands of workers and unwinding various longstanding agencies and services.

While generally anyone can file a FOIA request, the Democrats on the panels are utilizing the avenues at their disposal as the minority party to press for oversight of the Republican administration any way they can. It’s also a potential step toward more binding measures, including legal action.

In the FOIA request, Raskin and Connolly, who are the ranking Democrats on the committees, wrote that the information is necessary “to provide answers to the many open questions and an explanation to the public.”

They said, “There exist possible questions concerning the government’s integrity regarding DOGE’s operations, formation, and activity, which form the basis of this request, as many of DOGE’s actions may be outside the bounds of federal law.”

It’s unclear if the Trump administration will respond.

Trump and Musk have shown little regard for the protests coming from Democrats — and some Republicans — in Congress as their teams march across the federal government. Musk has vowed transparency, but the Democrats noted he has met privately with House and Senate Republicans.

The Trump administration is purging employees, shuttering federal agencies and otherwise disrupting operations in the name of rooting out waste, fraud and abuse. Some 100 lawsuits have been filed, with judges slowing and stopping some actions, while allowing others.

In the sweeping request, the Democrats seek four main types of information about the authority involved with DOGE’s activity: its access to sensitive data; the guidance and decision-making around its firings of federal employees; the potential conflicts of interest around its leadership; and its internal communications.

They seek the names, job titles and qualifications of DOGE staffers who have “been granted access to personally identifiable or sensitive information” since inauguration day, Jan. 20, and their purpose for doing so.

Additionally, they want to know about the various computer programs, including but “not limited to, artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs), your agency is using to store, process or analyze personally identifiable or sensitive information or data.”

The request seeks all DOGE directives, guidance and analyses around the firing of federal workers, including the dismissal of Inspectors General, and the undoing of various government agencies, including the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Department of Education and others.

Democrats are also requesting information about DOGE’s authority to direct and execute these directives as well as details around the funding of DOGE operations.

Musk, DOGE Administrator Gleason and some 40 other employees are listed in the FOIA request, which seeks information about their resumes, salaries, any conflict of interest waivers and any non-disclosure agreements involving their employment.

The request also seeks all communication from those workers, including via text message, and various messaging platforms, and specifically around key words including Musk-related entities SpaceX, Starlink, Twitter, Tesla and others.

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Republished with permission of The Associated Press.


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Byron Donalds questions whether ‘climate change risk’ should matter in reinsurance formula

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European companies factor it in. But the Naples Republican says maybe they shouldn’t.

U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds continues to weigh in on Florida’s insurance market as he runs for Governor, now suggesting that foreign companies and “climate change” analyses are partially to blame for high costs for homeowners.

“A lot of these reinsurance companies, a lot of them who are out of Europe, they’ve been trying to price in climate change risk, which is almost impossible to quantify, but that’s been in the calculations for how insurance companies have to stabilize their portfolios and their risk,” Donalds said on Rich Valdes’ America at Night.”

The phrase “climate change” has been one that has dogged the current Governor.

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation last year striking it from state law.

DeSantis has said he’s “not a global warming person” and has complained about “politicizing the weather” but when he was running for President, he acknowledged the impact of human activities on weather patterns.

Donalds’ interviewer Tuesday night did not ask him if he believes climate change actually exists, but the Naples Republican suggested that it shouldn’t matter to reinsurers in assessing Florida’s market.

In addition to blaming European financiers for Florida’s problems, Donalds also said federal fiscal policy was driving up costs to “rebuild property” because “overspending inflates costs.”

Donalds previously said his goal is to “find a way to stabilize costs” by “reexamining some of our reinsurance capital requirements, reexamining cap requirements on insurance carriers,” along with a “lot of other things that we’re going to have to get into and really figure out how to synthesize the Florida insurance market so it can become a little bit more affordable for the people of Florida.”

The new language suggests that his position on the issue is still evolving.

His position matters to voters.

Polling last month from the Associated Industries of Florida Center for Political Strategy found that a third of voters see insurance costs as the biggest issue facing Florida.


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High-tech science keeps Floridians safe from mosquito-borne disease

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As the director of the Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory at the University of Florida, I am fortunate to have access to world-class scientific minds and cutting-edge technology.

But in Florida, this expertise and innovation doesn’t just stay in the classroom or laboratory. They are deployed in all 67 counties to control mosquitoes, keep residents and visitors safe, and ensure our state remains the best in the nation to live and work.

Florida has long been an international leader in mosquito control. The Florida Mosquito Control Association (FMCA) was founded over 100 years ago by local business leaders who realized that the state’s economy and health required vigilant and collaborative approaches to reduce the risk.

Since then, our work and expertise have become internationally renowned. Florida hosts symposiums that bring mosquito control professionals from around the world, eager to learn and share successful approaches to keeping the public safe.

There are more than 80 species of mosquitoes in Florida. While most pose little or no threat, many can carry harmful or deadly diseases for humans and animals.

For example, some mosquitoes carry the dengue virus, which sickens hundreds of millions worldwide yearly.

While the disease is relatively rare in Florida, our state experienced more than 1,000 travel-related and 91 local cases of dengue virus in 2024.

How do we work to protect Floridians from this disease? We deploy a wide range of techniques, and each of our mosquito control districts works together.

In labs around the state, highly trained scientists analyze mosquitoes to determine if they are carrying disease.

They also monitor livestock and chickens, who act as early warning systems. Scientists routinely take and analyze blood samples to determine if mosquito-carried diseases are present.

We also take to the air with tools like the Skydio drone, a powerful tool for identifying mosquito breeding grounds from above. Drones provide the ability to visually inspect and perform control measures in otherwise difficult-to-reach areas.

With some mosquitoes resistant to traditional pesticides, innovative strategies make Florida an international leader in cutting-edge mosquito control techniques.

Among those is the “Sterile Insect Technique,” which uses X-rays to sterilize male mosquitos, which are released to mate with females with resulting eggs that are not viable.

The Florida Keys Mosquito District has also successfully used Oxitec’s targeted biological pest control technology to combat the disease-transmitting Aedes aegypti mosquito.

But even with the technology and science being used around the state to control mosquitoes, one of the most effective tools will always remain smart vigilance from every Floridian.

Preparing for mosquitoes is similar to what Floridians do each hurricane season. Simple steps like removing standing water and wearing insect repellant can reduce mosquitoes around your home and mitigate public health risks.

The truth is that mosquitoes will continue to carry diseases and adapt to some control measures. That means we must also continue to adapt, and creating and using innovative practices will always be needed to keep Florida safe and welcoming for everyone.

For more information, visit FMCA by clicking here.

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Dr. Jorge Rey is the FMCA president and professor at the University of Florida’s Medical Entomology Laboratory.


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