Breathe in, breathe out. For anyone following Florida's political news in 2018, it was a whirlwind of a year. For this political reporter, it felt like an entire career's worth of stories packed into 365 days.

But this is Florida, and it would be foolish to assume everything will soon be calm after the change of power happening Jan. 8, when the new state officials are sworn in. There is still lots going on, even if the news might not be as in-your-face as the historic triple state election recount madness.

With that in mind, here are top 10 political stories to watch in the new year, in no particular order:

Supporters of voting rights for felons marched in Fort Lauderdale [STEVE BOUSQUET – Times]

1. Felon voting rights. Amendment 4 passed with 64 percent of the vote, which means the majority of Florida voters want former felons (whose crimes were not murder or sex crimes) to be able to automatically have their voting rights restored. This influx of as many as 1.2 million new voters is a potential game-changer for Florida elections. But Governor-elect Ron DeSantis, who was opposed to the amendment, told the Palm Beach Post that it shouldn't go into effect until after the Legislature passes and sends him a bill that outlines how it will be implemented. Proponents of the measure said it was designed to implement itself without any delay or interference. Supervisors of elections are now stuck in the middle, but many of them have said former felons can register to vote starting Jan. 8. Expect this to be an ongoing story.

[Tampa Bay Times]

2. Changes to voting laws. After the missed deadlines, faulty machinery, claims of fraud and many, many questions surrounding the midterms and resulting recounts, lawmakers have said they are considering changes to the way Floridians vote. But how substantial those changes will be remains to be seen, as some prominent Republican leaders have said the issues this year had more to do with poor organization in Palm Beach and Broward counties than statewide problems. Either way, any changes made by the Legislature will be under fierce scrutiny to see if they have any effect on 2020's turnout.

A finger canal off the Caloosahatchee River in the River Oaks neighborhood near LaBelle was clogged with algae. [Pedro Portal | Miami Herald]

3. The environment. DeSantis made fighting against Big Sugar a plank of his campaign messaging and has held fast to it since the election. Dubbing himself a "Teddy Roosevelt conservationist," DeSantis seems poised to make water quality and the environment one of his top priorities while in office, especially when it comes to tackling the toxic green algae in Lake Okeechobee and its surrounding waterways. The incoming First Lady, Casey DeSantis, has also said she would like to make water quality her trademark issue. None of this is good news for sugar growers, long considered one of the state's most powerful special interests. Could this be a new era?

The coastal township of Mexico Beach, population 1200, lay devastated on Thursday (10/11/18) after Hurricane Michael made landfall on Wednesday in the Florida Panhandle. DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times

4. Hurricane Michael. The strongest storm to hit the Panhandle in recorded history may not be in the headlines anymore, but both organizers on the ground and lawmakers from the affected areas promise to continue fighting for the resources needed in these often low-income communities. The Florida Keys still aren't done recovering from Hurricane Irma, so there's no reason to expect parts of the Panhandle to be back to normal anytime soon, unfortunately.

Incoming House Speaker Jose Oliva, R-Miami Lakes.

5. Health care reforms. José Oliva, the newly-elevated Speaker of the House, has long criticized hospitals as government-subsidized "monopolies" and intends to make health care his key battleground during next year's Legislative session. Expect the Miami Republican to revive attempts to remove certificates of need and push for more competition among providers, from ambulatory surgical centers to telemedicine. He is likely to clash with the more moderate leader of the Senate, Bill Galvano, who has expressed more caution about making changes on the health care front, but has an ally in Lieutenant Governor-elect Jeanette Nuñez, who served with him in the House.

Emma Gonzalez, a survivor of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., closes her eyes and cries as she stands silently at the podium for the amount of time it took the Parkland shooter to go on his killing spree during the “March for Our Lives” rally in support of gun control in Washington, Saturday, March 24, 2018. Alex Brandon AP

6. Guns. The debate over gun rights was sparked by the massacre of 17 students and educators in Parkland last February and still hasn't subsided. While the issue didn't take center-stage in the midterm elections as some had predicted, the Parkland families are still very politically active – and the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Commission just issued the polarizing recommendation that schools should arm their teachers. Meanwhile, newly elected commissioner of agriculture, Nikki Fried, promised during the campaign to conduct an audit of the way the Department has issued concealed carry permits, following revelations that it did not fully examine the results of background checks in the past. This issue isn't going away.

Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis, left, has surprised some by straying from a strict conservative line by appointing two Democrats to his administration. In other picks, however, he has hewed closely to the party line, including selecting former House Speaker Richard Corcoran, right, as his education commmissioner. MONICA HERNDON | Times

7. A new governor. Even though DeSantis is from the same party as Gov. Rick Scott, he is still an entirely new governor who is just now entering state politics for the first time. Many questions remain about DeSantis and how he will choose to lead, but after his inauguration on the steps of the historic capitol on Jan. 8, he will officially be the leader of the nation's third-largest state. Expect lots of news as we learn more about him, his priorities and the First Family.

Different varieties of marijuana flowers are displayed at medical marijuana dispensary in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Gosia Wozniacka, File) ORG XMIT: NY115

8. Medical marijuana. When Nikki Fried was elected commissioner of agriculture on a weed-heavy campaign platform, she brought medical marijuana and the problems with its implementation back to the front of the news cycle. Meanwhile, a Tallahassee judge recently ruled that the law the Legislature passed to implement the amendment was unconstitutional. About 20 lawsuits still swirl around the issue, including many petitions for licenses to grow marijuana from parties that were previously denied. DeSantis is apparently unwilling to continue some of the state's legal appeals. Lt. Gov.-elect Jeanette Nuñez told the News Service of Florida that DeSantis "has said he's not interested in continuing that fight."

House speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’Lakes, pounds the gavel to start the first day of legislative session, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018, in Tallahassee, Fla. (AP Photo/Steve Cannon)

9. Education. With former House Speaker Richard Corcoran's appointment as commissioner of education, the expansion of charter schools, vouchers and other school choice policies is certain. Many are curious to see how Corcoran, a brash, unapologetic force in the House, handles being the head of a massive agency typically more involved with enforcement and daily operations than advocating for policy. Others fear what his appointment means for traditional public schools.

Tampa Bay Times

10. The state budget. It may sound boring, but two massive challenges lay ahead for lawmakers wrangling with state finances: the major costs incurred by Hurricane Michael and the new supermajority vote requirement for the Legislature to raise taxes or fees (via the passage of Amendment 5). Both could shape the state's $90 billion budget this year. But there is good news: an unexpected surge in sales-tax and corporate income-tax collections has led analysts to predict a boost to state revenue over the next two years, which could help ease the pressure.

Times/Herald staff writers Elizabeth Koh and Samantha J. Gross contributed.