Representative Michele Rayner (D-St. Petersburg) today filed an amendment to HB 7B, Vaccinations During Public Health Emergencies, to ensure that Florida’s State Health Officer is a qualified and licensed Florida doctor for at least one year. The amendment was ruled out of order.
Representative Rayner released the following statement:
“We have been in a public health emergency for over a year. My priority has been and will continue to be protecting Floridians during a public health crisis. While this special session is being used to gain political points for the Republican base, we are wasting time on bills that neglect to consider the safety of an average Floridian.”
“I filed an amendment that should be a common-sense requirement for any health official spearheading public health management in our State and that was to ensure that we have a qualified, licensed and Florida-based State Health Officer by requiring a Florida license for just one year. That amendment was ruled out of order and was not able to be heard because it would ultimately prevent Governor DeSantis from appointing his political pawns to office who embrace disinformation and put Floridians in danger. This abuse of power is happening in plain sight and is ridiculing Floridians and dishonoring the more than 60,000 people who passed away tragically due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
