01 MAY 2019: Cooler, smarter minds prevailed as the Florida legislature reached a deal to extend the life of Visit Florida, which had been set to expire in October. The House and Senate agreed Monday to approve US $50 million for the agency and move its “sunset” date to June 30, 2020.

That’s lower than the US $76 million Gov. Ron DeSantis requested but higher than the Republican-led House initially proposed.

Visit Florida markets tourism destinations in Florida through a variety of advertising methods, but House leaders led by House Speaker Jose Oliva, ludicrously questioned whether it is necessary.

On Friday however Oliva, said he was willing to agree to a request from DeSantis to keep the agency around, telling the media that the governor’s office asked to keep the agency afloat for another year, “so that he would have the opportunity to make an assessment of his own of how unnecessary it is.”

If that doesn’t sound like a predetermined judgement …

About 126 million tourists visited Florida last year.