Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday that Florida will appeal a federal ruling that reinstates federal rules regulating the cruise line industry.
DeSantis told reporters the state is “absolutely going to pursue” an appeal “either at the full 11th circuit or at the US Supreme Court. I’m confident that we’d win on the merits, at the full 11th circuit and, honestly, I’m confident we’d win at the US Supreme Court.”
Ten minutes before U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention’s (CDC) April rules regulating cruise ship operations were to become recommendations by order of Tampa-based U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta reinstated the CDC rules.
The 2-1 ruling was released 11:50 p.m. Saturday – 10 minutes before Merryday’s 124-page decision went into effect after the state successfully argued CDC regulations on cruise ships unfairly target Florida’s $8.1 billion cruise industry, which directly employs 160,000 state residents.
“CDC cites no historical precedent in which the federal government detained a fleet of vessels for more than a year and imposed comprehensive and impossibly detailed ‘technical guidelines’ before again permitting a vessel to sail,” Merryday wrote. “That is, CDC cites no historical precedent for, in effect, closing an entire industry.”
In April, the CDC updated its conditional sail order for cruise ship that requires 95% of cruise ship passengers and 98% of crew be vaccinated and ships undergo 60-90 days of preparation and test-sailing before resuming full operations.
The order – supported by the cruise industry because a vast majority of its customers want assurances crew and passengers are vaccinated – prompted the state to file a federal lawsuit alleging the CDC overstepped legal authority in imposing restrictions that “mothballed an industry” for more than a year.
On May 12, state and federal attorneys argued before Merryday in Tampa. A week-long mediation effort collapsed after an 11-hour session on May 27.
Merryday ruled the CDC order “exceed(s) the authority delegated to CDC” and allowed the CDC rules to remain in place for 30 days before becoming recommendations.
The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) on behalf of the CDC appealed the ruling to the 11th Circuit, arguing in briefs filed July 15 that it is a federal, not state, responsibility to regulate ship traffic for communicable diseases.
“The CDC protocols at issue here require conventional communicable disease control measures on cruise ships traveling internationally, which is an area of traditional federal jurisdiction,” the DOJ maintains.
In issuing the one-paragraph decision granting the federal government’s request for an injunction staying SB 2006, the federal appellate judges did not elaborate on their reasoning or identify the dissenting justice. The ruling notes opinions will be posted later this week.
While not directly related, the federal appeals court ruling adds heft to Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Lines’ lawsuit challenging Senate Bill 2006, which fines businesses or institutions up to $5,000 per violation if they require vaccine documentation and limits local emergency powers no more than 30 days.
Norwegian contends the state is exceeding its authority by imposing SB 2006’s restrictions on cruise ship operators and wants to require all passengers and crew be vaccinated against COVID-19 once it restarts its Florida cruises Aug. 15.
Florida’s cruise ships have been port-side since last March. Disney Cruise Lines held its first simulated sailing under CDC rules Saturday when the Disney Dream departed from Port Canaveral. All passengers were volunteer Disney employees.
This article was originally posted on Florida to appeal 11th Circuit’s reinstatement of federal cruise ship regulations
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