Last Call for 3.12.26 – 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

House Speaker Daniel Perez gave his farewell speech Thursday on the House floor, describing how the lower chamber asserted itself “to chart our own independent course through turbulent waters and unforeseen storms.”

Perez spoke of “formidable adversaries” and “incredible highs” after a video played of House lawmakers proclaiming they had “taken back the House” under Perez’s leadership, even though the GOP has controlled it for decades. 

But in the past two years, the House reasserted its role and pushed back against some of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ efforts, including serving as a watchdog over the Hope Florida scandal. The House also regularly pushed back on policy debates over property taxes, artificial intelligence, and immigration enforcement, often clashing with DeSantis or the Senate.

“The Florida House in particular will teach you … if you let it, some very, very fundamental life lessons. We are better when we place ourselves in service to a purpose greater than our own individual ambitions,” Perez said, receiving a standing ovation during his speech. “We are more powerful when we borrow strength from one another, and if we’re willing to throw away our selfish need for attention, we will find ourselves rewarded with boundless opportunities.”

Perez depicted himself as a House Speaker who was a representative first and more likely to eat lunch in the members’ dining hall than in his office.

Perez’s speech was notable for who he named — and who he didn’t.

He didn’t mention DeSantis or Senate President Ben Albritton.

“I want to thank those Speakers of the House under whom I’ve served and have earned my respect,” Perez said, citing Richard Corcoran, José Oliva and Chris Sprowls, who all led the House after Perez was first elected in 2017. 

Not getting a shout-out: former House Speaker Paul Renner.

Read more on Florida Politics.

Evening Reads

—”Donald Trump administration suggests tariff refunds may take significant time” via Tony Romm of The New York Times

—”How ‘Handala’ became the face of Iran’s hacker counterattacks” via Andy Greenberg, Matt Burgess and Lily Hay Newman of WIRED

—”UFC fighters to hold training event for FBI agents” via Sadie Gurman of The Wall Street Journal

—“My year as a degenerate gambler” via McKay Coppins of The Atlantic

—”AI money is already influencing the Midterms. And more is coming.” via Dan Merica and Clara Ence Morse of The Washington Post

—”Session gift supporting entrepreneur with Down syndrome was returned shredded to Meg Weinberger” via Jesse Scheckner of Florida Politics

—“House rejects Senate rewrite of Fiona McFarland transportation package” via Jesse Mendoza of Florida Politics

—”Legislature settles on increase to sovereign immunity caps” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics

—”House weakens transparency requirement in data center bill, sends to Senate” via Liv Caputo of the Florida Phoenix

—“Push to kill yellow license plate decal still alive despite bill’s death in Senate” via Jesse Scheckner of Florida Politics

—”The 50-year struggle to get Best Casting into the Oscars” via Constance Grady of Vox

Quote of the Day

“I have to ask, when did students become the voting villain?”

— Sen. Tracie Davis, as the Senate passed a sweeping election law rewrite.

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.

Pull some cash out of a crypto ATM and get yourself a Flavor Coin, because lawmakers gave the OK to HB 505.

The Senate sent over a rewrite of Rep. Fiona McFarland’s transportation package, and the House is sending back a Rejected Proposal.

Sine Die is approaching, but the House chose to go Double or Nothing over a clean passage of a bill designed to boost penalties for those running illegal gambling operations.

Breakthrough Insights

Tune In

Gators open SEC tournament play

The Florida Gators begin play in the Southeastern Conference men’s basketball tournament on Friday afternoon against Kentucky (1 p.m. ET, ESPN).

The Gators are the defending national champions and look poised to make a deep run in the NCAA tournament, but first, they must navigate the conference tournament. 

Florida (25-6) won the regular-season conference title and earned the top seed in the tourney. Florida is ranked fourth nationally and could be a No. 1 seed when the bracket is released on Sunday.

Florida beat Kentucky on Saturday in the regular season finale, running the winning streak to 11 games. The last time the Gators lost was Jan. 24 when they fell at home to Auburn. The Gators also beat Kentucky on Feb. 14 in Gainesville, 92-83.

Among Florida’s six losses was a 76-74 loss to Missouri on Jan. 3 in the conference opener for both programs. In the game, Florida had a long three-pointer to win it, but Boogie Fland’s shot missed as time expired.

Last season, Florida won nine of the last 10 regular-season games, earning the No. 2 seed in the SEC tournament. The Gators beat Missouri, Alabama, and Tennessee to claim the conference tournament championship en route to the program’s third national title.

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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.