The Senate Rules Committee says Moms for Liberty co-founder Tina Descovich should be confirmed to the state’s Ethics Commission, though Descovich didn’t attend the hearing, keeping any political fireworks at bay.

Gov. Ron DeSantis first appointed Descovich last year, but Descovich failed to get Senate confirmation. What sank her confirmation last time was a citizen complaint that her work with the parental rights group Moms for Liberty effectively served as lobbying.

Moms for Liberty is a group of parental rights advocates that has made national headlines with candidates running for local School Boards and helping lead book banning efforts.

The Senate Rules Committee is chaired by Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, who served as Senate President last year when Descovich’s confirmation failed to advance.

Descovich’s absence Tuesday spurred a discussion after Sen. Jason Pizzo voiced concerns about wanting to question her during the hearing.

“First of all, she doesn’t have to appear before this committee,” Passidomo said. “We didn’t invite her.”

Sen. Don Gaetz also chimed in. “It is somewhat unfair for us to engage in questions and debate without the nominee being here to offer an explanation and answers,” he said.

But Descovich’s appointment gets a second committee stop before the Ethics and Elections Committee, which is chaired by Gaetz. He urged Pizzo to attend, promising that Descovich will be invited.

Passidomo supported Descovich’s confirmation Tuesday.

“This is a reappointment. She’s already serving on the Commission. I think if there were a new appointment, I might have felt differently about asking her to attend,” the Naples Republican said. “I feel comfortable today moving forward.”

During the short debate, outnumbered Democrats raised their concerns about Descovich’s ties to Moms for Liberty and whether she might have a conflict of interest herself on the Ethics Commission. 

“She listed Bridget Ziegler as a reference on her application,” said Sen. Lori Berman.

Ziegler is another Moms for Liberty member who gained notoriety for her stances against the LGBTQ+ community all while she reportedly had a threesome with her husband, former Republican Party of Florida Chair Christian Ziegler, and another woman. The scandal became public after her husband was accused of, and later cleared of, rape.

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A third and final Senate panel has approved legislation to crack down on unsafe boaters, preparing the measure for the Senate floor.

Sen. Jonathan Martin presented the bill (SB 628) before the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee. The measure is called “Lucy’s Law” after 17-year-old Luciana Fernandez, who died during a September 2022 boat crash that left other passengers injured, including 18-year-old Katerina Puig, who is now permanently disabled.

George Pino is facing homicide charges after operating a boat, where Fernandez, Puig and others were on board, when it violently struck a channel marker. Pino refused a Breathalyzer at the time.

Martin’s measure would sharpen some of the penalties associated with dangerous boating.

Per the legislation, if someone leaves the scene of an accident where someone is hurt, but it’s not a serious bodily injury, prosecutors can charge the person with third-degree felony. In the event of a serious injury, it’s a second-degree felony. Accidents involving death would be punishable as first-degree felonies.

The legislation sets up similar penalties for accidents where a person is operating a vessel recklessly. It would also make clear that “vessel homicide” includes “the death of an unborn child caused by injury to the mother.”

SB 628 requires boater safety education courses for certain offenders involved in accidents or boating infractions.

The House has already unanimously passed its version of the bill (HB 289) by Republican Reps. Vanessa Oliver and Vicki Lopez.

Lucy’s parents, Melissa and Andy Fernandez, have advocated strongly for the legislation as it moved through both chambers. Melissa Fernandez spoke to the committee Tuesday.

“Andy and I have poured our hearts into this, not just for Lucy because she deserved better, but for your children and your grandchildren, for every family in Florida who loves the water and trusts that our laws are designed to protect them,” she said.

“This is the moment. This is the tipping point. And together we have the power to choose action over delay, progress over fear, and safety and responsibility over the status quo. Lucy’s Law is not extreme; it’s measured. It’s responsible and thoughtfully shaped by those who live, work and spend their lives on the water.”

Martin then thanked the Fernandezes for their advocacy.

“I appreciate Lucy’s parents for their strength of getting this through the House unanimously on the floor and being such great advocates for boater safety in the state of Florida,” he said.

The Senate Criminal Justice Committee and Transportation Committee previously approved Martin’s bill.

Some differences remain between the House and Senate bills, requiring some movement before the Legislature can give final approval. For instance, the House bill sets up a mandatory minimum of four years in prison for someone involved in a deadly crash who leaves the scene or fails to notify law enforcement. The Senate bill does not.

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A bill that would ban drilling in environmentally sensitive areas has cleared its second and final House committee.

The measure (HB 1143) from Republican Rep. Jason Shoaf and Democratic Rep. Allison Tant passed the State Affairs Committee unanimously, with three Representatives absent. The measure now sets sail for the House floor.

The bill would require the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to conduct a “balancing test” before granting a permit for oil and gas activities in areas within one mile of the coast or other bodies of water.

The agency would be required to consider the need to protect natural resources and weigh that against the potential harm, and whether the natural resource would be adequately protected in the event of “an accident or a blowout from oil or gas drilling or exploration activities,” according to the bill analysis.

It would prohibit the “drilling, exploration, or production of oil, gas, or other petroleum products within 10 miles of a National Estuarine Research Reserve.” 

That means such drilling or resource exploration would be banned near places such as the Apalachicola Bay.

The measure was prompted, in part, by a draft permit issued by DEP last year for exploratory drilling in Calhoun County along the Apalachicola River, which spurred bipartisan opposition over fears that such activity could harm the local ecosystem and impact already struggling shellfish farmers and nearby fisheries.

The National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) System is a network of estuaries targeted for long-term research and environmental protection. Three are in Florida — Apalachicola Bay, the Guana Tolomato Matanzas NERR along the Guana and Tolomato rivers north of St. Augustine, and the Rookery Bay NERR in Naples.

The three areas would receive automatic protection under the bill from drilling activities. The bipartisan support appears to come with good reason.

The Apalachicola NERR is one of the most productive in the northern hemisphere, the staff analysis notes, with nearly 235,000 acres that serve as a foraging area for migratory birds and as a major support for the local fishing industry, which is worth an estimated $14 million to $16 million annually.

The Guana Tolomato Matanzas NERR includes salt marshes, mangrove tidal wetlands, oyster bars, lagoons, upland habitat and, perhaps most importantly, calving grounds for the endangered right whale.

And the Rookery Bay NERR, primarily open water, supports 150 species of birds and a number of endangered and threatened species, including the Florida Panther.

A Senate version of the bill (SB 1300) has cleared one of three committees and is scheduled for a hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government on Thursday.

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