All Posts

THE FLORIDA SENATE SENATOR BEN ALBRITTON President MEMORANDUM TO: All Senators FROM: Ben Albritton SUBJECT: Update Regarding Special Session D Legislation DATE: April 24, 2026 We are awaiting a communication from the Governor’s Office regarding congressional redistricting. Once received, we will share his submission with you via email. We anticipate President Gaetz will then file the Governor’s map as Senate Bill 8D. As you are aware, actual redistricting legislation does not

President Donald Trump's administration reclassified medical marijuana as a less dangerous drug on Thursday, a move that drew praise from leaders in the cannabis industry. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed orders rescheduling medical marijuana in states where it is legal — including Florida — from Schedule 1, which includes drugs such as heroin, to Schedule III and setting in motion efforts to fully reclassify recreational marijuana in the coming months. The medical

FROM CDA The Hershey Industry Performance Analysis (HIPA) Report delivers the most comprehensive financial benchmarking report in the convenience distribution industry. Thanks to the generous support of The Hershey Company, it is available at no cost to participating CDA distributor members. Participants receive: Industry Benchmarking Report: Financial and operational data with insights on key metrics. Individual Financial Benchmarking Dashboard: An interactive tool to compar

April 20th, 2026  Contact: Press_Paul@paul.senate.gov, 202-224-4343 WASHINGTON, D.C. — Dr. Rand Paul (R-KY) today introduced the bipartisan Hemp Safety Enforcement Act, a bipartisan bill that empowers states and Tribal governments to regulate and ensure the safety of hemp and hemp-derived products, preventing a looming federal crackdown from shutting down a thriving, multi-billion-dollar American industry. The Hemp Safety Enforcement Act is cosponsored by Senators Amy Klobuch

Following FDA’s rigorous scientific review, FDA issued a renewal of modified risk granted orders to Philip Morris Products S.A. (PMP S.A.) for two IQOS system holders and chargers and three flavors of HeatSticks products. With this renewal, these five products may be marketed with the following exposure modification claim: AVAILABLE EVIDENCE TO DATE: The IQOS system heats tobacco but does not burn it. This significantly reduces the production of harmful and potentially harmfu

Lawmakers landed at a joint allocation number of $51.98 billion, per a just-released message from Senate President Ben Albritton's Office. The Special Session dates have been set for work on the budget, with conference committees meeting May 12-15, "at which point unresolved issues will bump and Senators can return to their districts," the memo reads. "Senators should plan to return to Tallahassee the week after Memorial Day to vote on the conference report." Sen. Ed Hooper w

Dr. Bret Koplow, Acting Director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products (CTP), participated in a panel discussion this week at the American Tobacco and Nicotine Forum. Koplow stated that the FDA has decreased the its backlog of pre-market tobacco applications (PMTAs) by approximately 70% over the past year while also eliminating the “acceptance” queue to streamline the review process. He noted that while the FDA has reviewed approximately

On April 10, 2026, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report titled, “Combating Illicit Substances: DOJ Enforcement of Unauthorized E-Cigarettes.” The report showed large numbers of unauthorized e-cigarette products and devices continue to be for sale in the U.S. As of June 2024, there were over 6,000 e-cigarette products on the market, most of which lack U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorization. The report outlines that the Department of

Attorney General  James   Uthmeier  announced Tuesday that Florida is launching a new Public Assistance Fraud Task Force. This multi-agency group aims to strengthen the state’s legal response to fraud in taxpayer-funded benefit programs. The task force will centralize legal guidance and prosecution strategies for cases involving programs like Medicaid, SNAP, WIC, housing assistance, and reemployment benefits. This should help state agencies and law enforcement build stronger

On April 9, 2026, Philip Morris USA Inc. (PM USA) filed its brief with the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in response to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) appeal of a lower federal district court decision vacating (i.e., overturning) the FDA’s graphic cigarette health warning regulation. The federal district court decision was issued in a lawsuit brought against the FDA by PM USA, Dhaliwal & Associates, Inc., Stewart Candy Company d/b/a Stewart

After a two-day markup, the House Agriculture Committee approved a Republican authored farm bill by a margin of 34-17. Seven Democrats joined all GOP committee members to advance the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 (H.R. 7567) on March 4, 2026. Many Democrats expressed opposition to the bill over the $187 billion in cuts from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last summer. Republicans stressed the budget cons

Dear SNAP Retailer , To prepare for implementation of Florida's Healthy SNAP changes, all retailers are required to view a brief presentation and complete the attestation that follows.  The presentation provides an overview of Florida's Healthy SNAP updates and what they mean for your store. Access the presentation here: Healthy SNAP for Retailers Presentation Additional guidance, tools, and resources will continue to be shared in the coming weeks.  As a reminder, changes to

From CDA: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in cooperation with the Partnership for Food Traceability (PFT), has scheduled a “listening session” on March 6, 2026, regarding the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Section 204(d). During the listening session, trade associations representing each supply chain sector will share their challenges for implementing lot-level traceability, flexibilities that would help overcome these challenges, and specific solutions for

From CDA News On Feb. 2, 2026, the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a decision ruling that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) authority to impose civil money penalties (i.e., fines) for tobacco regulation violations is unconstitutional. Specifically, the court held that the civil money penalties violate the U.S. Constitution’s Seventh Amendment, which guarantees the right to a trial by jury. The pending lawsuit was brought by Vaping

From: TOBACCO REPORTER (Thank you, Baron Feraro, PMIUS) A Florida House panel advanced legislation that would establish a separate tax structure for heated tobacco products (HTPs), distinguishing them from traditional cigarettes under state law. The bill ( HB 377 ), introduced by Rep. Chase Tramont, reinforces an existing Department of Business and Professional Regulation interpretation that classifies HTPs as “other tobacco products” rather than cigarettes. The change would

FROM CDA NEWSLETTER 1/15/2026 Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Thom Tillis (R-NC), along with Reps. Herb Conaway Jr. (D-NJ-03) and Celeste Maloy (R-UT-02), have introduced legislation to crack down on illicit vape products. The Strengthening Task Force Operations to Prevent Illicit Vaping Act (S.T.O.P. Illicit Vaping Act) would bolster a federal multi-agency task force, led by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to coordinate enforceme

FROM CDA NEWSLETTER: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a Federal Register notice (FRN) announcing a roundtable discussion with small tobacco product manufacturers (fewer than 350 employees) on February 10, 2026, 9 am–5 pm ET. The discussion aims to solicit input on premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) submissions for electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) products. Viewing the meeting is open to the public, however roundtable participants ar

From CDA Newsletter - New bans on using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for purchasing certain processed foods, such as soda and candy, have taken effect in some states. On Dec. 30, 2025, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released guidance on how to comply with the waivers. The USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has approved 18 state agency requests to implement a SNAP Food Restriction Waiver and is poised to approve more in the future.

-- News Service of Florida -- Siding with Attorney General James Uthmeier’s Office, an administrative law Judge dismissed a challenge to an emergency rule banning the sale and manufacture of a concentrated byproduct of kratom, known as 7-OH. Uthmeier’s Office issued a rule in August prohibiting the alkaloid 7-hydroxymitragynine, known as 7-OH, and adding it to the list of the state’s most dangerous drugs, saying the ban was needed “to avoid an imminent hazard to the public s