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

First Shot

Florida Republicans’ intraparty battle continued Thursday, with the Legislature telling the Governor that it was their way or the highway, not the other way around. Ron DeSantis returned the favor by threatening defiant lawmakers with primary challengers.

Reminiscent of a call by DeSantis earlier this month, House Speaker Daniel Perez held a town hall with state GOP leaders, pushing the Legislature’s narrative on the immigration bill scuffle packaged alongside criticism of the Governor’s plan.

According to those on the call, Perez said the Legislature’s bill was more conservative than the one pushed by DeSantis, which he claimed was a thinly veiled play to give the Governor a “mini version of ICE” that would duplicate the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown efforts rather than augment them.

“He (DeSantis) is not going to work with ICE. He wants a little mini version of ICE. He wants his own state guard, with his own bureaucrat, picking up the illegal aliens and shipping them off to another portion of the world, wherever it is that they originate from. That’s not working (in) conjunction with President Trump.”

The Governor, meanwhile, amped up his rhetoric — he has gone from casting the Legislature’s bill as “weak, weak, weak” to a “very grotesque piece of legislation.” He’s also directing more frustration at Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, whom he accused of instigating this saga by supposedly leveraging his influence as a former Senate President.

As it stands, the Legislature is still winning the numbers game, with just one GOP lawmaker — Rep. Mike Caruso — publicly breaking ranks to side with the Governor.

Evening Reads

—“Donald Trump blames predecessors, diversity programs for fatal air collision” via Isaac Arnsdorf of The Washington Post

—“The 25 most eye-popping lines from Trump’s off-the-rails remarks on the D.C. plane crash” via Chris Cillizza of So What

—“The plane crash that ripped through the world of elite figure skating” via Louise Radnofsky, Allison Pohle and Jennifer Levitz of The Wall Street Journal

—“Trump kicks Congress to the curb, with little protest from Republicans” via Carl Hulse of The New York Times

—“What it’s like to go to school in the shadow of ICE” via Anna North of Vox

—“Trump is just watching this crisis unfold” via David A. Graham of The Atlantic

—”As GOP rift widens, Ron DeSantis pledges money to elect ‘strong conservative’ successor” via Skyler Swisher of the Orlando Sentinel

—”Joel Rudman said he felt unwelcome in a House ‘itching for a fight’ with DeSantis” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics

—”‘Powerless and angry’: Venezuelans react to roll-back of deportation protections” via Verónica Egui Brito and Syra Ortiz Blanes of the Miami Herald

—”Mercenaries for Millionaires: Inside the private army that protects L.A.’s rich and famous” via Jason McGahan of The Hollywood Reporter

Quote of the Day

“This was an argument waiting for an excuse. If not for immigration, they would have fought over new hours for the cafeteria.”

— Former Rep. Joel Rudman, on the Legislature v. Ron DeSantis bout.

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.

Rudman’s campaign for Florida’s 1st Congressional District may’ve gone bust, but Doc Rock deserves a “Peace Out” for heading for the exit before the gloves came off.

Separate from his war with the Legislature, DeSantis is catching flak from Tucker Carlson, who called him a “donors’ puppet.” Since the strings aren’t showing up on camera, however, we’re recommending he be served a Muppet.

With all the drama, we imagine rank-and-file staffers are itching for politics-free happy hour. A Paris Between the Wars should help them forget work for a few minutes.

Breakthrough Insights

Tune In

Gators face Vols in key rematch

For the second time this month, the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers meet when the teams tip off on Saturday in Knoxville (noon ET, ESPN).

On Jan. 7, Florida shocked then-top-ranked Tennessee 73-43 in Gainesville. The win was among the Gators’ most notable regular-season victories in program history. Ince beating Tennessee, Florida (18-2, 5-2 SEC) has won four of five games, only losing to Missouri on Jan. 14.

The game is the first since the school cleared Florida head coach Todd Golden following a four-month investigation into sexual misconduct allegations.

Both teams enter the game ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press poll. Florida is ranked #5, while Tennessee (17-4, 4-4) is ranked eighth. The game is also the first of four straight for the Gators against ranked teams. Between now and Feb. 11, Florida will face Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Auburn, and Mississippi State.

The Gators are coming off an 89-59 win over Georgia on Saturday. Five Gators scored in double figures in the game, including Walter Clayton Jr. and Alijah Martin, who each scored 17 points. Both rank in the top 10 in scoring average in the SEC. Clayton is tied for sixth (17.8 points per game), while Martin is tied for 10th (16.1).

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

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Today in Florida, if government negligence harms someone physically or financially, the most that hurt person can hope to receive in legal damages — without additional action by state lawmakers — is $200,000.

This is due to a centuries-old concept known as sovereign immunity, which shields Florida’s government, its local subdivisions and agencies from having to settle pricey lawsuits without its consent.

It’s led to a backlog of measures, called claims bills, of which state lawmakers carry dozens each year. Few ever pass, regardless of each case’s merit.

Among them: a 15-year effort to pay about $10 million to a former Broward County deputy who suffered life-altering injuries in an entirely preventable shooting; a repeatedly filed proposal to clear millions to a Fort Myers boy with severe brain damage due to the gross negligence of the Department of Children and Families; and a push to provide $7.5 million to a mother for the medical costs of three sons maimed in a state trooper crash.

Despite court findings of culpability or admissions of negligence by the state entities involved and numerous legislative attempts by lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, none of those people have gotten relief.

There’s something wrong with that, according to state Rep. Fiona McFarland. She’s trying to update Florida law to make it easier for the state and its governments and agencies to right their wrongs.

“These are cases where the government is found guilty as negligent or admitted they made a terrible mistake. There’s a big dollar sign award to compensate the victim, and their stories are heartbreaking,” she told Florida Politics.

“But we don’t ever (approve legislation to pay them properly). Under (former House Speaker Paul) Renner, it was the first time in a long time that claims bills had even been heard. It doesn’t feel fair, and I think that’s what people sent me up to Tallahassee to do, to identify things that don’t feel quite right and address them.”

McFarland, a Sarasota Republican, filed a bill (HB 301) Wednesday to address the issue. It’s the second straight year she’s carried a measure to amend Florida’s sovereign immunity statutes. Last year’s version, which had Senate support from Republican Jason Brodeur and Democrat Daryl Rouson, died in its last committee stop.

If passed, HB 301 would raise the liability cap for claims against the state, something several other lawmakers have tried but failed to do in recent years. More notably, the bill would allow local governments to voluntarily settle claims exceeding those caps without approval from the Legislature and prohibit insurance companies from having policies in Florida that condition benefits on the enactment of claims bills.

For incidents on or after Oct. 1, 2025, McFarland’s bill would increase the pre-claims bill payout limit from $200,000 to $1 million for one person. For multiple claims from the same incident, the cap would increase from $300,000 to $3 million.

Those levels would rise slightly in five years, with incidents on or after Oct. 1, 2030 having a pre-claims bill payout cap of $1.1 million per person and $3.2 million for multiple claims from the same incident.

HB 301 would not be retroactive. Any claims brought against the state, its agencies or local governments before Oct. 1 would still be restricted to the $200,000/$300,000 caps. However, as would still be the case with the new payout levels, people could still pursue larger sums through Florida’s claims bill process.

All settlement sums before state legislative action must be within the limits of a government or agency’s insurance coverage.

McFarland said she understands that passing HB 301 would hike costs for the state, its counties, municipalities and agencies, and not just from the higher settlement levels the bill contemplates. Local governments would see their liability risks increase, which in turn would require them to carry more insurance.

“And when it’s more expensive for government to exist, they could pass it on to the residents through the tax base. But we don’t really like to raise taxes in this state, so what that means for our local governments is that they might have to save somewhere else,” she said.

“I don’t like that, and I’m sensitive to that. That’s a real argument. My heart is just with the victim.”

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