Lawmakers began work on a significant measure aimed at limiting social media use for those under the age of 16. Other bills have advanced as well, such as the "Live Healthy" proposal, as well as a proposal to punish drivers who ride the left hand lane on highways. 

Democrats and Republicans in Tallahassee also debated the absence of Governor Ron DeSantis as he campaigns in Iowa ahead of the caucuses in that state next week.

The push to regulate social media use by minors

Under new proposed legislation, minors in Florida could be kept off social media until they’re 16 years old.

Lawmakers say endless scrolling and addictive algorithms are harming Florida’s kids.

Under the proposal, which is formally called HB 1 Social Media Use for Minors, minors are banned and an age verification system needs to be implemented.

“A parent’s number one job is to keep their child safe. I think that when parents look at this bill, I hope that they see that the legislature is trying to back them up in that effort and in that priority,” State Rep. Tyler Sirois said.

HB 1 sets the age at 16 years old and above. If passed, companies must boot existing minors.

Only one lawmaker on Thursday voted against the proposal.

“It just feels like the government is now telling parents that no, you don’t really have the ability to make the ultimate decision in your children’s lives, particularly when it comes to social media,” State Rep. Ashley Gantt said.

Other bills of note are making their way through the chambers of the state legislature.

A senate committee will take up a bill aimed at preventing hot car deaths. Senate Bill 554, also called Ariya’s act, was created in memory of a 10-month-old who died of heatstroke after being left in a vehicle.

This bill would aim to encourage local agencies to hold events and provide educational resources on the topic. It would also designate April as “Hot car prevention month” to raise awareness of the issue.

Additionally, an interstate safety bill moves on.

The Senate Transportation Committee passed Senate Bill 258, which would make it illegal for drivers to hog the left lane.

The bill would set a fine of up to $158 for using the left lanes unless drivers are attempting to pass or exit the highway.

Tallahassee leadership debates DeSantis' presence in Iowa

DeSantis was in Tallahassee for the State of the State address, but he quickly left for Iowa to attend a Town Hall event with Fox News. That was the same day that much of the state was hit with tornado warnings and severe thunderstorms.

Some Democrats, including Minority Leader Lauren Book, criticized his absence, but mentioned that his absence could make bipartisan bills easier to pass.

“Look, I think it’s not so much as he isn’t here, I think that maybe the fact that he is not as powerful, and on a greater trajectory to the White House, I mean, let’s be pretty clear, he isn’t doing real well, and I think the die has been cast, and I think they know that he’s going to come back a little bit lame duck,” Book said.

Senate President Kathleen Passidomo said that she had never had an issue contacting the governor or getting his help when trying to get bills passed, but did mention that she’s proud of the number of bipartisan bills she expects to pass in Tallahassee’s upper chamber.

“About 95% of the bills passed this session and the last session will have been bipartisan. And many without any no votes,” she said.

Speaking of bipartisanship, part of Passidomo’s healthcare agenda passed through the committee phase unanimously and is now headed to the senate floor for a vote.

It is the "Live Healthy" act. If passed by the legislature, it would create a live healthy innovation council and loan program.

She says this is a step toward new modern medicine practices.

The house companion bill was also voted favorably by the Healthcare Regulation Subcommittee.

Debate takeaways

In national news, the Republican presidential field is shrinking as the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses are just four days away.

Both Governor Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley are back in the Hawkeye state today after debating with each other last night.

“Every time he lies, Drake University, don’t turn this into a drinking game because you will be over-served by the end of the night,” Haley said.

DeSantis also brought an attack, calling Haley out for perceived lies.

“If she said she’s never said something, that definitely means she’s said it,” he said on the debate stage.

In their debate, DeSantis and Haley agreed on many policy proposals like deporting migrants who are in the U.S. illegally, implementing school choice and providing aid to Israel.

But they disagreed on how America should continue helping war-torn Ukraine.

“We don’t have enough resources being $35 trillion in debt to continue doing hundreds of billions of dollars,” DeSantis said.

Last night was filled with two Republican candidates attacking each other.

Political analysts April Schiff and Sean Shaw reacted to the debate.

“I think that they were much more pointed in their attacks upon each other. It created an exchange that we haven’t seen in the past debates, because the stage had been so full of so many candidates. So it was an interesting play on how well they had learned each others opposition research. They were truly trying to bring each other down,” Schiff said.

When asked about the key differences between DeSantis and Haley, Sean Shaw was uncertain.

“I can’t really tell, to be honest. Because I can’t tell who is lying and who isn’t, because they were so aggressive towards each other and all these canned lines. It was hard to get a real difference between the two, other than this. I will say that it appears that Nikki Haley is at least giving some lip service to moderates. When she gave the answer on abortion, the way she talks about Ukraine, the was she talks about immigration, it at least recognizes that are some voters who are somewhat in the middle. DeSantis didn’t even come close to that. He was trying to be as conservative as possible,” he said.

A new survey from Suffolk University shows that Hawkeye state Republicans are not that impressed with DeSantis.

According to the poll, the governor trails Donald Trump, who has 54% support, and Nikki Haley, who has 20% support.