He Said, She Said: Two-For-One

Key Insights

• On this episode of He Said, She Said, Peter + Michelle speak to Rep. Chris Spowls and Senate President Bill Galvano.
• Pop culture: Michelle laments the passing of Beverly Hills 90210 star Luke Perry, who died this week at 52. She says Beverly Hills 90210 harkens back to a simpler time when tv was more innocent.
• What has Florida Politics been covering this week? Big topics: Tampa mayoral race: Jane Castor vs. David Straz, Jacksonville mayoral race: Lenny Curry vs. Anna Brosche.
• Political food fights in Tallahassee: A bill on whether genetic testing data should be accessed by insurance companies; A distillery bill, and a bill about plastic surgery gone wrong.
• Peter + Michelle speak to Florida Senate President Bill Galvano on where the session is, his leadership style, and the most important bills to watch going through the legislature.
• Sen. Galvano's major priority is a transportation plan to expand infrastructure in Florida. He says this is so important because of Florida's rapid growth. Florida is taking in 850 new people per day - which means each year Florida is gaining a population about the size of Orlando.
• Sen. Galvano says Florida is doing well economically - but a lot of the prosperity we are enjoying is limited to coastal areas. We don't have the infrastructure necessary to move our state economically into the future.
• MCORE proposal: Building multi-use transportation corridors within the state, to specifically address rural areas. Would provide transportation, broadband, water, and sewer.
• Part of this plan would be to build a continuation of the Suncoast Parkway to Georgia, expand the Turnpike Connector to west coast of Florida, and build a new corridor from Polk County to Collier County.
• Peter mentions a noticeable difference in leadership. Galvano describes the presiding officer as a traffic officer who helps move ideas and makes sure process is correct.
• They talk bills: Sports betting, school guardian program, and the must-watch first movements of the session - smokeable marijuana and funding rebuilding after Hurricane Michael.
• Other pop culture news: Leaving Neverland has been permeating Michelle's social media feed - she can't stop talking about it. Can you separate the man from the music? Michelle and Peter say no.
• Next guest: Northen Hillsborough and Northern Pinellas Representative Chris Sprowls, who is in the line of succession to speaker. Sprowls says this year is different, and that there is an active conversation between the House, Senate, and Governor.
• Rep. Sprowls says each chamber has its own priorities: House - Healthcare reform, Senate - transportation, Governor - environment.
• Peter and Rep. Sprowls talk the lack of print news coverage of the bills in Tallahassee and the success of Florida in general. Rep. Sprowls argues there should be more coverage of Florida as a success story - high rankings in higher education, minority student achievement, K-12 achievement, etc. Wired magazine said - florida creating a data revolution - criminal justice - everyone operating on the same system.
• USF Consolidation: Rep. Sprowls has been a proponent of consolidation since the beginning. He says that because of separate accreditation USFSP and Sarasota-Manatee weren't having the rising of stature that USF Tampa was having.
• Rep. Sprowls says the issues to watch include the marijuana bill (and he says a second marijuana bill will probably come up) as well as how priorities start to shake out for each chamber.
• More pop culture: Peter is extremely excited about the latest Game of Thrones trailer, Michelle is not. "My governing theory is that I try to keep the darkness out of my life as much as possible." - Michelle
• Other important news: Women's soccer team suing for gendered pay discrepancy. Adidas has also announced that for the first time, women soccer players will be getting the same bonuses as men this year. Peter says now is not the time to push
• Vaccination: Largest study ever in Denmark proves that MMR vaccine does not cause autism. Peter: We are critics of anti-vaxxers; Michelle: We are pro-vaccination.
• Facebook and misinformation: Facebook going to remove misinformation against vaccines by rejected targeted ads, removing Facebook groups, and stopping the spread of misinformation-based news.
• Hot takes: Peter - Why are people so upset that Kate Beckinsale and Pete Davidson are together? Michelle - schedule a colonoscopy.