Banning Muslims. Deporting immigrants. Repealing Obamacare. With all the chaos surrounding the presidency of Donald J. Trump, one might easily forget our own state’s annual foray into political dysfunction.

On March 7, the Florida Legislature convenes again, and there’s no shortage of idiocy coming out of our Capitol. While the majority of Floridians helped elect a supposed outsider for Washington D.C., they also decided to retain the imbalance of power in Tallahassee by voting for entrenched incumbents or special interest-funded creatures of the Republican Party — all of whom now feel emboldened to push a hardline conservative, pro-corporate agenda. And what happens when a gaggle of recently elected FL politicians assemble? Another round of ridiculous, wacky and downright immoral bills from clueless state leaders.

Although the majority of these proposed laws come from the state’s Republicans, the other side of the aisle is not above reproach. Democrats filed some absurd legislation, too — mostly bills of little consequence, which pretty much sums up their current impact on state politics. With real issues to confront like access to affordable health care and clean water, Democrats want to mandate helmets for young skateboarders (SB 266) and raise the smoking age to 21 (SB 1138).

The following is not an exhaustive list. Not included are several questionable gun laws and more restrictions to public assistance that are on the table. But these bills give a sense of the insanity coming out of Tallahassee.

HJR 121 Reversing state court rulings

State Rep. Julio Gonzalez may want to brush up on his civics.

One of the hallmarks of democracy is the separation of powers between our three branches of government. Yet the Venice Republican has submitted a preposterous bill that would allow the Florida Legislature, in a two-thirds vote, to reverse rulings by state courts. That includes decisions made by the Florida Supreme Court, a longtime foil to the GOP legislature’s partisan hubris.

And Gonzalez wants to put this in the Florida Constitution.

“The separation of powers is currently being broached by an activist court,” says Gonzalez on his way from Tallahassee to his Venice home. “They are only supposed to interpret the law, not legislate from the bench.”

Rep. Gonzalez and his Republican colleagues are smarting at the chastising they received in late 2015 from the Florida Supreme Court, which ordered congressional and state senate districts redrawn after finding evidence of gerrymandering, which voters overwhelmingly voted to put a stop to in 2010.

HJR1 Term limits for judges

In another slap at the judiciary, state Republicans want to enforce term limits on Florida Supreme Court justices and appellate judges. Rep. Jennifer Sullivan, R-Mount Dora, sponsored a bill to put 12-year term limits on judges. No other state has such a law.

But don’t just blame Rep. Sullivan: The attacks on the state’s judges come straight from the Republican leadership.

House Speaker Richard Corcoran has publicly supported the push for judicial term limits.

In December, Corcoran told attendees of the Associated Industries of Florida’s annual conference that the “enemy” of the business community is the “seven individuals who meet in private and wear black robes.”

While term limits for government officials sound nice in stump speeches, actual implementation could have severe ramifications for the justice system, including limiting incumbent judges whose decisions are informed by years on the bench.

If passed by both legislative branches and signed by Gov. Rick Scott, the language would appear as a constitutional amendment on the ballot.

HB 427 Withdrawal from the refugee program

Taking a cue from the ol’ Trump playbook, Deltona Republican David Santiago wants Florida out of the Good Samaritan business.

The state representative’s bill would remove Florida from the federal refugee resettlement program, which provides $257 million to non-profits for various services, including help finding a job and healthcare.

Florida’s resettlement program is the largest in the country. Over 62,000 refugees came to Florida in the last fiscal year, with Cuba and Haiti topping the list of arrivals.

“[The bill] just doesn’t make sense,” says Michael Sheedy, executive director of the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops. “It puts a lot more strain on the system. It is not necessary and would create a duplicate system.”

Santiago wants to send a message to the federal government to improve vetting procedures of refugees and prevent terrorists from entering the program. (There is no evidence of a refugee planning, or carrying out, a terrorist attack in the state.)

What’s more, withdrawal from the federal program does not mean refugees will stop coming to Florida. It just means the state will be cut out of the process even further.

HB 697/786 Ban on “sanctuary cities”

Not content with Trump’s executive orders denying federal funds to “sanctuary cities,” Rep. Larry Metz, R-Yalaha, and Sen. Aaron Bean, R-Jacksonville, want to enact penalties on cities and counties that fail to cooperate with immigration officials.

The “Rule of Law Adherence Act” would fine government entities up to $5,000 a day and deny state funding for five years.

But in another, possibly unconstitutional twist, the bills would allow the governor to remove from office elected officials who fail to comply.

“This is definitely another blow in addition to the federal level [executive orders],” says Francesca Menes, director of policy for the Florida Immigrant Coalition. “This legislation penalizes localities for protecting our communities… this would literally strip rights away from local governments.”

And like many of state lawmakers’ ill-conceived policies, the proposed statute has no funding for cities to enforce the law. “Another unfunded mandate,” says Menes.

“You threaten public safety when you push measures like this,” says Menes. “The fear we see in our community does not just affect immigrants… There are a lot of crazy pieces to this legislation that make no sense whatsoever.”

SB 348/HB 203 Abortion restrictions

Since it’s not likely that abortion restrictions will come from the federal level any time soon, abortion foes have focused on limiting women’s protections on the state level. And the recent election has emboldened pro-life advocates like never before.

Two state House Republicans — Rep. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, and Rep. Don Hahnfeldt, R-The Villages — introduced the “Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act” this term, which would ban abortions after the point that some say a fetus “can feel pain.” Anti-abortion activists point to the 20-week mark. (State Sen. Greg Steube, R-Bradenton, filed a companion bill in the Senate.)

This is a medically dubious distinction that abortion foes see as an attempt to erode Roe v. Wade.

This legislation only allows an abortion after 20 weeks if the pregnancy poses a “serious health risk” to the mom. In addition, performing an abortion after the mark would be a felony, and the father of the aborted child could sue the doctor. This, despite the fact that only a small percentage of abortions occur after 20 weeks, the vast majority of which (if not all of them, really) are due to discovery of severe birth defects or a complication that could result in the death of the mother. In other words, women and families would be punished for having bad luck.

“This kind of legislation seeks to deny a woman the dignity to make personal, private decisions,” said Laura Goodhue, executive director of the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates, in a statement. “However we feel about abortion at different points in a pregnancy, a woman’s health should drive important medical decisions — not political agendas. Politicians are not medical experts and this is not an area where they should be interfering.”

But wait, there’s more. Sen. Dennis Baxley recently filed the “Humanity of the Unborn Child Act.” HB 1006 would allow the state to develop and distribute “educational and informational” materials for radio, television and print for the “purpose of achieving an abortion-free society.” These taxpayer-funded materials must “clearly and consistently communicate that the elective termination of an unborn child kills a living human being.” Oh, and this information will go to schools, too.

SB 424 Kratom ban

With Florida Republicans doing all they can to whittle away the rights of women, the safety of immigrants and the U.S. Constitution, you would think our Democratic representatives would have no time for frivolous legislation.

But you’d be wrong. Enter: St. Petersburg State Sen. Darryl Rouson’s bill to ban the herb kratom.

This plant, a member of the coffee family, gives a stimulant effect in low doses and a more sedative effect at higher doses. You can lounge at a number of small coffee bars in the Tampa Bay and sip tea made from the plant alongside others who just prefer a nice chamomile. The crushed leaves of the plant are also sold in pill and powder form at area smoke shops.

The effects are slight and, some say, might have some beneficial uses to combat withdrawal from actual harmful drugs like heroin a nd cocaine.

So, while other lawmakers choose to fight the opioid epidemic with harsh penalties for trafficking in fentanyl and expanding the use of overdose kits, Rouson wants to tackle a tea, which, honestly, tastes like dirt anyway.

HB 237 Driving and boating while stoned

Watch out, newly certified medical marijuana patients.

Rep. David Silvers, a Democrat from West Palm Beach, wants to set standards for motorists who drive stoned. SB 237 sets a limit of THC in a driver’s blood and equates the number (delta 9 tetrahydrocannabinol per milliliter of blood) with the state’s 0.08 blood alcohol limit.

That’s an issue, because there isn’t a definitive way to test “highness.”

According to several studies, blood tests for THC are highly inaccurate because they do not take into account how often someone smokes or their metabolism. So, one driver could test over the legal THC limit even if they didn’t spark one up that day, while another driver passes the test a couple hours after a blunt. Even the nation’s largest motor club — AAA — agrees.

Silvers’ law would also apply to boaters. Really, dude? If you’re not smoking a joint on a boat, you’re doing it wrong.

SB 1096 Running over protesters

In one of the last pieces of ridiculous legislation filed this session, one state senator wants to give you the right to run over the U.S. Constitution… and maybe a few protesters as well.

Sen. George Gainer, a Republican from the Panhandle, wants to increase criminal penalties for protesters blocking roadways and remove liability for motorists who “unintentionally” cause injury or death to said protesters.

The key word there is “unintentionally,” because that puts the burden on the protester (or estate of a dead one) to prove otherwise.

SB 1096 is similar to a bill filed by a North Dakota politician in response to the large protests against the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline. That bill was defeated. Let’s hope Florida lawmakers put a higher priority on our First Amendment rights than making sure we get to work on time.

To contact the CL News & Politics department, email Kate Bradshaw at kate.bradshaw@cltampa.com.

One state senator wants to give you the right to run over the U.S. Constitution … and maybe a few 

protesters as well.

IF YOU BRING THE BONG… Be aware that proposed legislation would set new standards for boating while stoned.

This article appears in Mar 2-9, 2017.