TALLAHASSEE — Less than a year after Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed legislation that would overhaul Florida’s hemp marketplace, Florida senators are trying again.

On Monday, a bill that would reform the hemp marketplace moved through its first committee meeting in the Senate. The House hasn’t heard any companion legislation yet.

Some of the ideas in the package senators moved forward are the same as what was in the bill that DeSantis vetoed last year. Others are new.

When DeSantis vetoed last year‘s bill, he said it would impose too harsh a burden on small businesses.

But the sponsor of both this year’s legislation and the vetoed bill said lawmakers also need to weigh concerns about the health and safety of hemp products.

Here’s what to know about what the proposal, SB 438, would mean for hemp businesses and users.

Banning delta-8

Many of the products currently lining smoke shops around the state would become illegal under Sen. Colleen Burton’s proposed bill, including any delta-8 products.

The cannabis plant contains more than 100 cannabinoids. Delta-9 is what users typically think of as THC, and is a compound that creates a high sensation.

While delta-8 can also create a psychoactive effect, it is thought to be less potent and occurs in lower quantities naturally than delta-9. But producers can use a chemical process to convert other cannabinoids into delta-8, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

The bill would change the definition of hemp extract to prohibit it from containing “any quantity of synthetic cannabinoids.” It would also ban delta-8, delta-10, HHC, THC-O-Acetate, THCP and THCV.

Last year, a similar ban was in the bill DeSantis vetoed. Opponents said the ban could affect products with trace amounts of those cannabinoids that aren’t meant to create a “high” sensation, like certain CBD tinctures.

Remaining legal products under the bill would be capped at 5 milligrams of delta-9 THC per serving or 50 milligrams per container.

Requiring alcohol licenses

Under the bill, canned beverages that contain THC could only be sold at shops with a license to sell alcohol.

It would also require a cap on the strength of THC drinks, limiting them to 5 milligrams per unopened can. The bill would also prohibit alcohol from being included in a beverage with THC.

According to a Harvard Medical School blog, the cannabinoids found in beverages are designed to dissolve easily in liquids – which means they lead to a quicker effect as they are absorbed in the body.

Michael and Caitlyn Smith, owners of the St. Petersburg-based non-alcoholic bottle shop Herban Flow, opposed the beverage requirements.

Both said requiring their store, which centers around not selling alcoholic beverages, to have a license for alcohol doesn’t make sense.

Michael Smith said he’s in favor of going after delta-8 and synthetic cannabinoids, which he said is what lawmakers are really seeking.

“They’re trying to take a bill to shut down the smoke shops, and they’re sweeping us along inside of it when our mission is different,” Michael Smith said. “We’re trying to provide an alternative to people looking to stay away from alcohol.”

Limiting hemp shop advertising, locations

If passed, the bill could mean no more strip malls filled with back-to-back smoke shops.

The legislation would limit where a store selling hemp could set up. It would ban a shop selling hemp from setting up within 500 feet of a school or daycare, a gas station or another retail shop with a permit to sell hemp.

When DeSantis suggested how the Legislature could reform the hemp marketplace in his veto letter of last year’s bill, he said lawmakers should “consider measures to prevent the ubiquity and concentration of these retail locations in communities across the State.”

The bill would also restrict what hemp shops look like to visitors. Current shops can have products that are easily accessible. The proposal would require that all hemp products, aside from beverages, be kept out of reach in either a locked display or in an area accessible to only employees.

Advertising would also significantly change. Businesses would no longer be able to advertise using the words “THC,” “medical card” or any other similar term.

Businesses would also no longer be able to advertise in a way that’s visible to members of the public from the sidewalk or street, which would make hemp shops operate like medical marijuana facilities.

Testing regulations

Hemp in Florida would be tested in the same labs where medical marijuana is tested under the bill, and two lab employees would need to verify it meets potency requirements and is free from contaminants.

The bill would also create an avenue for state officials to randomly test products from the shelves of hemp shops.

If a tested product fails, it would need to be recalled.

A Times/Herald analysis showed that many hemp products have a THC level high enough to classify as marijuana, and some contained contaminants unsafe for human consumption.

Burton said testing would make sure that “products are indeed hemp products and not marijuana products dressed in hemp clothing.”

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Rural officials are balking at legislation that would allow voters to decide whether county commissioners should be limited to eight years in office, arguing that the restriction would quash the voices of local residents.

Florida lawmakers propose constitutional amendment to set county commission term limits, cement school board limits

The Senate Ethics and Elections Committee on Monday voted 6-2 to approve a proposal (SJR 802) that would put in the Florida Constitution eight-year term limits for county commissioners and school board members. The Legislature in 2023 approved eight-year term limits for school board members, but those limits are not in the Constitution.

Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, a Spring Hill Republican who is sponsoring the proposed constitutional amendment, told the committee that voters overwhelmingly support term limits for elected officials.

“All we’re asking is, let’s put it on the ballot. This is overwhelmingly popular. This is what the voters want,” Ingoglia said.

But two Republicans on the committee, Sen. Erin Grall of Vero Beach and Jennifer Bradley of Fleming Island, voted against Ingoglia’s proposal.

Grall unsuccessfully attempted to increase the proposed term limits from eight to 12 years. Grall said that, while she supports term limits, eight years might not be long enough for elected officials to get the “institutional knowledge” they need to be effective.

“It takes time to come up to speed,” she said, arguing that it takes “at least two, if not four years” for state lawmakers “to understand the scope” of the legislative process. “I don’t think it’s in the best interest of our constituents to lose the institutional knowledge of the person who is willing to put their name on a ballot.”

Elected officials from rural areas also argued against the restriction.

Wakulla County Commissioner Ralph Thomas called the proposed term limits “an affront to the spirit of liberty.” Imposing eight-year limits “strips away the sacred right of local determination,” Thomas told the Senate committee.

“This proposal flies in the face of principles upon which our nation and our republic were founded. The citizens of each county who live with the consequences of their leaders’ decisions should be the ones to decide what limits, if any, are best suited for their unique needs,” Thomas argued.

Chris Doolin, a lobbyist who represents the Small County Coalition, said that voters in the group’s 29 rural counties make up just a fraction of more than 14.2 million voters statewide. Local commissions have experienced a high degree of “turnover” in recent elections, according to Doolin.

In the last two election cycles, between a third and half of local officials “were replaced,” Doolin said.

“The voters know what they want,” he argued.

A similar House measure (HJR 679) has not been heard by committees.

State lawmakers, the governor and state Cabinet members have eight-year term limits. The Legislature in 2022 approved imposing 12-year term limits on school board members and the following year lowered the cap to eight years.

The proposed term limits, if approved by the Legislature, would go on the 2026 ballot and would need 60 percent approval from voters to pass. The state Constitution addresses the structure of county commissions and four-year terms for commissioners but does not place limits on terms.

Counties with charters can adopt term limits for commissioners. Currently, 12 of the state’s 20 counties with charters have adopted such restrictions, Florida Association of Counties Deputy Director of Public Policy Jeffrey Scala told the Senate panel. Four of the counties have 12-year term limits and eight have eight-year limits, according to Scala, whose group opposes the proposal.

The measure “strips voters’ ability to self govern by forcing them to vote on term limits statewide and imposing their choices on other counties,” Scala said.

But Ingoglia suggested that small counties are opposed to term limits to protect incumbents. He pointed to Brooksville, a Hernando County city located within his Senate district.

“When you look at the city commissioners on there, including the mayor, they’re all rock stars. Everyone could probably run for state House, state Senate. Might even be able to run for Congress. They’re just that good. So the question that these smaller counties have to ask is, are they really looking or have they created the environment where you have the good-old-boy system not allowing other people to run, or discouraging other people to run?” Ingoglia told The News Service of Florida after Monday’s meeting.

The Ethics and Elections Committee also on Monday gave initial approval to a proposed constitutional amendment (SJR 536) that would limit state lawmakers to serving eight years in the Florida House and eight years in the Florida Senate, for a total 16-year cap.

The issue is salient this year, after Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration tried to block state Rep. Debbie Mayfield, R-Melbourne, from running in a special election for a Senate seat. Mayfield was elected to the House in November after serving eight years in the Senate.

The Florida Supreme Court sided with Mayfield after the Division of Elections said she could not be qualified in a special election for Brevard County’s Senate District 19, which opened when Sen. Randy Fine submitted his resignation to seek a congressional seat.

The Supreme Court cleared the way for Mayfield to appear on the ballot, with a special primary election in the Senate district on April 1.

Bradley said she opposed the proposed “lifetime” cap on legislative service.

“I understand the intent is to kind of stop that ping-ponging” between the House and Senate, Bradley said. She suggested Ingoglia consider allowing legislators to return following a “required gap” in service.

“But if you serve and years later you want to come back and serve your community, I think that’s the most American thing you can do and for that reason I don’t support this lifetime ban,” she said before the committee approved the measure, which Bradley voted against.

Duke and Auburn topped the national rankings the last two weeks, and the NCAA men’s basketball tournament selection committee saw no reason to stray.

Auburn (28-5) was given the No. 1 overall seed in the 68-team field despite losing to Tennessee in the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament, based on its body of work. Auburn has 16 Quad 1 wins, three more than any other team in Division I, while playing the second most difficult schedule.

Duke (31-3), Houston (30-4) and Florida (30-4) are the other No. 1 seeds. All won their conference tournaments — Duke in the Atlantic Coast, Houston in the Big 12 and Florida in the SEC.

Duke enters the NCAA tournament with uncertainty around star freshman and likely NBA 2025 No. 1 draft choice Cooper Flagg, who suffered a left ankle injury in a quarterfinal victory over Georgia Tech and did not play against North Carolina or Louisville.

“It’s full speed ahead,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “Our goal is for Friday (return), and it is his goal as well.”

It did not seem to matter. Duke fellow freshman Kon Knueppel had 63 points in the three ACC tournament games.

Duke earned its 15th No. 1 seed, tying Kansas for second-most overall. North Carolina, the last at-large team in the field according to the selection committee, has been a top seed 18 times.

Auburn and Michigan State are the 1-2 seeds in the South Regional, Duke and Alabama are 1-2 in the East, Houston and Tennessee are 1-2 in the Midwest and Florida and St. John’s are 1-2 in the West.

The East and the Midwest regional winners meet in the national semifinals, as do the South and West winners. The Final Four is in San Antonio, Texas, on April 5 and 7.

The SEC Makes a Statement

Auburn and Florida headlined an SEC assault — a tournament-record 14 SEC teams made the field, shattering the previous record of 11 set by the Big East in 2011, the first year field was expanded to 68 teams.

The SEC received four of the top eight seeds, and it seems fair. The SEC is ranked No. 1 in both the NCAA RPI rankings and the analytic site Kenpom. Auburn was No. 1 in the AP Top 25 for seven weeks and Tennessee was No. 1 for five. Florida and Alabama reached as high as No. 2, each blocked by Auburn.

The other SEC seeds: Kentucky (3) Texas A&M (4), Ole Miss (6), Missouri (6), Mississippi State (8), Georgia (9), Oklahoma (9), Arkansas (10), Vanderbilt (10), Texas (11). Texas has a playin game against Xavier on Wednesday

Four SEC teams have eight or fewer losses despite playing in the toughest league in Division I.N o other conference can boast that season-long success. The conference has 16 members, and 14 of them had at least 19 wins.

The Big Ten, led by No. 2 seed Michigan State, has eight teams in the field. The Big 12 has seven and the Big East has five. While Duke is seeded on the top line, there are only four ACC teams in the field. The Mountain West also had four.

No. 1 Seed Tournament History

Seeded on the top line does not guarantee success, but it is a good place to start. No. 1 seeds have won six of the last seven tournaments and nine of the last 12.

UConn, the top seed in the tournament in 2024, beat Purdue for its second consecutive championship after winning it all as a No. 4 seed in 2023. The Huskies were the eighth team to win back-to-back titles, and they were the first overall No. 1 seed to win it since Rick Pitino took Louisville to the 2023 title, although that was later vacated because of NCAA violations.

Kansas, Baylor, Virginia, Villanova and North Carolina were No. 1 seeds when they won the championship from 2017-22. The 2020 tournament was cancelled because of COVID.

No. 1 seeds have meet in the championship game three times since 2017. UConn and Purdue were No. 1 seeds a year ago. Baylor beat fellow No. 1 Gonzaga in 2021 and North Carolina beat the Zags in 2017.

What Does KenPom Say?

Analytics guru Ken Pomeroy, a former U.S. government meteorologist, revolutionized the use of statistics as a predictor of success in the NCAA tournament in the early 2000s, and his rankings are recognized as the industry standard.

Since 2001, 95.7 percent of the NCAA tournament champions have ranked in the top 22 in the KenPom adjusted offensive efficiency and 91.3 percent have ranked in the top 32 in adjusted defensive efficiency.

Nine teams are in both camps entering the tournament, including all four No. 1 seeds Duke, Auburn, Houston and Florida. The others are Alabama, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Tennessee and Wisconsin.

Duke has the best combined marks — third on offense and fourth on defense. Houston and Florida are the only other teams in the top 10 in both. Florida ranks first in offense and 10th on defense. Houston is 10th on defense and second on offense.

Who Was Squeezed Out

North Carolina (22-13) was an often-problematic 1-12 in Quad 1 games. A team is credited with Quad 1 win for a home victory against a team ranked 1-30, a neutral site win against a team ranked 1-50 and a road win against a team ranked 1-75.

West Virginia (19-13) was 6-10 in Quad 1 games, with wins over NCAA tournament teams Gonzaga, Arizona, Kansas and Iowa State. Indiana (19-13) was 4-13 in Quad 1 wins, including wins over Michigan State and Purdue.

The Tar Heels’ lone Quad 1 win was against UCLA, but the committee cited its 8-0 record in Quad 2 games. North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham was the chairman of the selection committee, but he recused himself when the Tar Heels were discussed.