A measure aimed at incentivizing private large-scale landowners to set aside conservation lands has cleared its first Committee stop, the Intergovernmental Affairs Subcommittee, with one minor amendment.

Rep. Lauren Melo’s measure (HB 299) aims to encourage Florida’s largest private landowners to serve as long-term stewards of both the natural and built environments. It would establish “Blue Ribbon” projects for landowners who control or own at least 10,000 contiguous acres. The measures would require participating landowners to conserve at least 60% of the property.

The adopted amendment to the House bill adds language granting easements to the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and similar government entities to the definition of “reserve area,” the space that would be conserved under the program.

The bill would allow landowners to bypass the usual local government approval processes typically undertaken for development projects. However, landowners would still need approval from local governments based on compliance with applicable statutes, including development orders and concurrency requirements.

The stated Blue Ribbon project goals are to protect wildlife and natural areas; limit urban sprawl; provide a range of housing options, including missing middle and affordable housing; create quality communities designed to reduce vehicle trips and promote multiple mobility options; and enhance local economic development objectives and job creation.

The proposal is driven by a desire to implement smart growth strategies, ensuring growth occurs only where it can be supported. The proposal requires phased planning for water, wastewater, transportation, schools and utilities.

It also emphasizes sustainability beyond conservation lands by ensuring that new development supports population density in compact, multi-mobility-focused communities.

The measure also seeks to ensure the state is a good steward of taxpayer dollars by allowing conservation lands to be secured without public dollars.

“HB 299 creates a framework that secures large-scale private land conservation for the long term — without requiring state purchase or taxpayer subsidies,” Melo previously told Florida Politics of the bill.

Sen. Stan McClain is sponsoring an identical bill (SB 354) in the upper chamber. It has not yet been heard in Committee. The House version has two more Committee stops: Commerce and State Affairs.

Days after lawmakers greenlit Republican Rep. Fabián Basabe’s request for a sweeping audit of Miami Beach’s governance, local officials are preparing to denounce what they describe as “false, misleading, and unsubstantiated public claims” he’s made about the city and its leaders.

In a new resolution filed for the panel’s Dec. 17 meeting, Mayor Steven Meiner and Commissioners Tanya Bhatt, Laura Dominguez and Alex Fernadnez assert that the city operates with “transparency, ethical governance, responsible public communication, and evidence-based oversight.”

But for years, the resolution says, Basabe has repeatedly undermined public trust by publicly accusing the city of corruption, mismanagement, favoritism, improper contracting and unethical behavior — none of which, the item says, has been backed by evidence.

The resolution highlights Basabe’s initial request in October for an audit of Miami Beach, which, among other things, raised concerns of “financial mismanagement, procurement irregularities,” “inflated contracts, diversion of funds, and questionable budget allocations.”

Basabe has yet to provide substantiation for any of those claims, according to the resolution, which also cites Basabe’s amplification of social media claims alleging that Commissioners are controlled by insiders or engaged in improper dealings, calling those assertions “completely without evidence.”

Similarly, the item says Basabe’s criticism of Miami Beach’s homelessness ordinance has been “factually and legally baseless,” contradicting census data from the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust showing homelessness at “historic lows.” His claims regarding misuse of voter-approved general obligation bond funds are also “categorically false,” according to the resolution.

The Miami Beach Commission is a seven-member body, meaning that if Meiner, Bhatt, Dominguez and Fernandez all vote for the measure they sponsored, it will pass. Commissioner Joseph Magazine, who was traveling when contacted Thursday, said he’d heard the gist of the resolution but won’t decide whether he’ll be supportive until he reads it.

Commissioner David Suarez, who this year lodged accusations against Dominguez similar to those Basabe intimated, responded to a query from Florida Politics about the issue, but did not say whether he’d support or oppose the resolution.

Commissioner-elect Monica Matteo-Salinas, a former Fernandez staffer who is to be sworn in Dec. 15, did not immediately respond.

Meiner, Magazine and Suarez have no party affiliation. Bhatt, Dominguez, Fernandez and Matteo-Salinas are Democrats.

Senators and Representatives in the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee voted unanimously on Monday to direct Florida Auditor General Sherill Norman to examine Miami Beach’s operations.

Norman will now set the scope of the review, and auditors will coordinate with the city in the coming weeks to begin document requests and on-site work. A final report is expected roughly one year after the audit formally begins.

In a lengthy statement, Basabe accused the resolution’s sponsors of “trying to turn a basic oversight measure into a political fight,” noting that the measure was placed on the Commission’s consent agenda, “where it can be passed in a batch without discussion unless a Commissioner pulls it.”

“This alone tells you how uncomfortable they are with transparency. Challenging an independent audit is never in the best interest of residents, and trying to bury a political attack inside a procedural shortcut should concern anyone who cares about honest government,” he said.

“It is defensive and calculated to serve as a shield to their calculated ecosystem of donors, lobbyists and contract-holders who rely on secrecy and confusion to operate. Residents deserve clarity, clean bookkeeping and honest government. They also deserve leaders willing to collaborate in good faith.”

This isn’t the first time Basabe has sought potentially punitive action against local officials in cities he represents. In August, he successfully pushed for Bay Harbor to fire its Town Attorney, Democratic Miami-Dade School Board member Joe Geller. The action, effectuated by a 6-1 Town Council vote, prompted one of Geller’s law firm partners to opine that the number of municipalities Basabe has scrutinized “probably correlates to the number of political enemies he has.”

Fernandez said in a brief phone interview that he welcomes the audit, noting that the city operates at a surplus, has reduced its millage rate in recent years, and enjoys strong bond ratings. Miami Beach also has an independent Inspector General who regularly checks the city’s books for waste and abuse, Fernandez said before accusing Basabe of both.

“We have a public official that is lying to his colleagues about one of his cities, and now we have public resources being dedicated to looking into falsehoods,” he said. “Everything that he has alleged is false and misleading, and now it’s leading to an audit that wastes taxpayers’ money.”

Fernandez added that Basabe may have also engaged in a “criminal misuse of public office” by including his official Florida House letterhead in communications accusing him and Dominguez of wrongdoing and calling for candidates to challenge them.

In one letter addressed to “the Residents of Miami Beach,” he asked, “WILL ANYONE RUN AGAINST FERNANDEZ OR DOMINGUEZ? Step up to and help to save our city!” In another that did not include their names, the lawmaker wrote, “If you vote for any of these incumbents, you’re endorsing deceit and rewarding incompetence.”

Florida Statute 104.31 provides that a public official may not use their authority or influence “for the purpose of interfering with an election or nomination of office or coercing or influencing another person’s vote or affecting the result thereof.”

Miami Beach resident Jo Manning cited that statute and others in September ethics complaints she filed against Suarez, who used the city’s seal and letterhead in communications aimed at defeating Dominguez in the city’s November election.

Fernandez won re-election last month with a record-breaking 84% of the vote, while Dominguez took 61% of the vote to defeat a Republican challenger that Suarez backed.

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

Ed. Note — After a hectic Election Night on Tuesday, we have decided to give Sunburn the night off. Don’t worry, the morning read of what’s HOT in Florida Politics will return to your inboxes bright and early Monday morning! Thanks for your support, and have a wonderful weekend.

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A huge top-of-Last-Call birthday shoutout to our friend, Florida TaxWatch President & CEO Dominic Calabro.

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Happening tomorrow — The Florida Department of Health is holding a rulemaking workshop in Panama City Beach on proposed changes to Rule 64D-3.046, which governs immunization requirements for children in public and private schools and child care. Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo has signaled interest in dropping several routine childhood vaccines from the school/child care list, revisiting the Florida SHOTS registry, and broadening the process for obtaining religious exemptions. Pediatric, legal and patient advocates from American Families for Vaccines, Florida Families for Vaccines, the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Southern Legal Counsel, the Pro-Vaccine Legal Alliance, and The J.A.I.M.E. Group are on-site, urging DOH to keep long-standing protections in place and avoid moves they say could put Florida families at greater risk for preventable disease: 9 a.m. CT, Hyatt Place Panama City Beach, 15727 Front Beach Rd., Dunes Conference Room, Panama City Beach.

First Shot

Gov. Ron DeSantis is supporting a plan that boots the University of South Florida from its Sarasota-Manatee campus and shifts every building, dorm and facility to New College of Florida, which would mark a dramatic reshaping of Sarasota’s higher education landscape.

The measure, pitched as part of the Governor’s 2026-27 budget proposal, would create a new section of Florida law directing the two institutions to shift all real property, buildings, leaseholds and related liabilities associated with the Sarasota-Manatee campus from USF to New College.

“This is a policy matter that is going to be discussed, debated and worked through over the coming months of the Legislative Session,” USF Board of Trustees Chair Will Weatherford said during a meeting on Thursday. “We don’t control the outcome of that discussion.”

The conforming bill specifies that no students, employees, fund balances, research contracts or grants would be part of the transfer, which applies only to real estate, fixed capital facilities, particular furnishings and any outstanding debts tied to those facilities. It would also ensure that current USF Sarasota-Manatee students can complete their degrees for up to four more years.

“Our priority, and what we do control as a university, is how we treat and protect our students, our faculty and our staff,” Weatherford said.

If approved, New College would be required to assume full legal and financial liability for the campus’s outstanding facility debt no later than Oct. 30, 2026. Until that assumption is complete, New College would make monthly payments of $166,617 to USF to cover the debt service. Failure by New College to make those payments would void the transfer and return the facilities to USF.

The real property transfer must be completed by July 1, 2026, with specific assets and liabilities identified in a joint agreement approved by both schools’ Boards of Trustees and submitted to the Board of Governors.

Read more on Florida Politics.

Evening Reads

—”Always on my mind: Donald Trump’s enduring focus on Joe Biden” via Shawn McCreesh of The New York Times

—”Disguised and in danger: How a Nobel Peace Prize winner escaped Venezuela” via José de Córdoba, Vera Bergengruen and Alex Leary of The Wall Street Journal

—”The Republicans fighting Trump’s latest redistricting plan” via Kelli Wessinger and Anstead Herndon of Vox

—”When did the job market get so rude?” via Franklin Schneider of The Atlantic

—”Doxxers posing as cops are tricking Big Tech firms into sharing people’s private data” via David Gilbert of WIRED

—“The VA was a safe space for veterans. That era is over” via Michael Embrich of Rolling Stone

—”Florida leads nation in cuts to environmental protection jobs, report says” via Jeffrey Schweers of the Orlando Sentinel

—“Eileen Higgins says backlash to Trump’s ‘trickle-down hatred’ helped her Miami Mayor win” via Jesse Scheckner of Florida Politics

—“House Committee advances bill expanding E-Verify to all Florida businesses” via Gabrielle Russon of Florida Politics

—”University of West Florida approves American Civic Republicanism Center” via Jay Waagmeester of the Florida Phoenix

Quote of the Day

“Every time a state does something like this, we get that much further away from all of our goals, which is to fix immigration in this country.”

— AFL-CIO lobbyist Rich Templin, on a bill expanding E-Verify to all businesses.

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.

It needs a real-world recipe, but once that’s hammered out, Attorney General James Uthmeier gets The Bite of ’87 for going after Roblox creeps in court.

With Florida farmers getting a chunk of a $1 billion federal specialty crop bailout, it’s time for a Tomatini — c’mon, a citrus-based cocktail would’ve been low-hanging fruit.

Rep. Dean Black’s HB 4017 would serve the Nassau County Recreation & Water Conservation & Control Districts a Trashcan, whether they like it or not.

Breakthrough Insights

Tune In

Army-Navy takes college football spotlight this weekend

With conference championship games played and the College Football Playoff not kicking off until Dec. 19, this weekend is highlighted by a singular spectacle of college football: the 126th playing of the Army-Navy game, this year in Baltimore (3 p.m. ET Saturday, CBS).

Both teams will play in a bowl game. Army is scheduled to face UConn in the Fenway Bowl on Dec. 27, while Navy is booked for the Liberty Bowl against Cincinnati on Jan. 2. But this is the game that will live the longest in the minds of the players.

Army (6-5) is coming off a three-point win over Texas-San Antonio. The Black Knights’ last four games have been decided by three points or less. In that stretch, Army has won three games, with the only loss coming in a 26-25 defeat by Tulsa. As usual, Army’s offense is based around the ground game. Quarterback Cale Hellums has rushed for 1,078 yards while throwing for just 504 yards this season.

Navy (9-2) won the last two games after suffering its only losses of the season in back-to-back weeks. After falling to North Texas and then No. 10 Notre Dame, the Midshipmen responded with wins over 24th-ranked South Florida and at Memphis.

Like Army, Navy’s top rusher is a quarterback. Blake Horvath has thrown for 1,390 yards and rushed for 1,040 yards this season. Navy is the top rushing team in the nation, averaging 298.4 yards per game, while Army ranks fifth at 256.9 yards per game. 

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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.