Ron DeSantis A landmark period of legislation passed by Florida’s Republican-controlled Legislature came to a peaceful conclusion on Friday, laying the groundwork for Governor Ron DeSantis’ anticipated presidential campaign.
The annual session’s 59 days, which included the most prolific period of right-wing legislation any state has seen in years, were markedly different from the comparatively uncomplicated last day. Week after week, lawmakers passed laws addressing abortion, firearms, the death penalty, immigration, public schools, and gender identity, occasionally in the face of protests in the nation’s capital.
In one session, a GOP lawmaker called transgender activists “demons” and “imps,” and another declared terrorists “hate homosexuals more than we do” to defend Republicans.
And it showed a strong governor in the height of his influence. Whether it was placing new rules on Disney or passing a measure to prevent China from purchasing land in Florida, DeSantis’ friends in the Legislature mostly got what they asked for.
Republican lawmakers were prodded by Ron DeSantis to support his conservative agenda, and lawmakers admitted that DeSantis left the session with a to-do list that was unmatched by any recent Florida governors. The governor never demonstrated any concern that his conservative achievements may hurt him with moderate Republicans or in a general election; instead, he worked tirelessly to get every piece of legislation through the legislature.
Ron DeSantis
Republican state representative Spencer Roach of North Fort Myers stated, “I think it would be political malpractice if he does not run for president.” He needs to take advantage of this opportunity.
Despite his continued visits outside of Florida, including this weekend in Wisconsin and later this month in Iowa and Illinois, DeSantis is anticipated to sign several of the laws he supported very soon. Ron DeSantis signed a provision into law that permits a board established to supervise land used by Disney to revoke a development deal a previous board had signed with the entertainment giant only hours after bragging about his legislative successes at the state capitol.
A record $117 billion budget that includes millions put aside for anticipated legal challenges to several of the laws approved this year, as well as increased cash to transport migrants to other regions of the nation, is also anticipated from him.
The governor conceded that he will soon clarify any residual mystery, but on Friday he generally avoided queries about his political future and a potential presidential run. He also dismissed as “chatter” suggestions that he enter the presidential contest as soon as feasible.
We’ll deal with that fairly shortly, Ron DeSantis promised. You must accept or stop complaining about that, too.
Democrats, who were outnumbered and reduced to a superminority, referred to the previous two months as the “session from hell” because of its focus on a “extremist agenda.”
Democrat from South Florida and state senator Jason Pizzo claimed that the session was “sadly overshadowed by the aspirations of an absentee governor.”
Ron DeSantis and the lawmakers, according to Nikki Fried, head of the Florida Democratic Party, are “hellbent on stripping away the very freedoms we hold dear — from reproductive rights and academic freedoms to the right to love who we love.”
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Ron DeSantis wasn’t the only topic of discussion. Additionally, Republican legislative leaders were able to advance several of their own high objectives, including as a bill supported by House Speaker Paul Renner that would provide private school vouchers to any family that requested them, regardless of their ability to pay. A significant affordable housing initiative was passed into law thanks to Senate President Kathleen Passidomo.
Even yet, there were a few instances of bipartisan cooperation, such as the passing of a law to increase the number of children eligible for the state’s subsidised children’s health insurance programme and the establishment of a long-term tax exemption for necessities like diapers.
However, the majority of attention remained firmly fixed on DeSantis and his legislative wish list. Legislators agreed to modify state law so that Ron DeSantis won’t be required to retire if he wins the Republican nomination for president, in addition to giving him what he wanted on a lengthy list of culture war concerns. Additionally, the GOP utilised its supermajority to approve a law that would have hidden his travel history from view.
Ron DeSantis highlighted a number of education-related legislation enacted by Republican lawmakers this session on Friday, emphasising their decision to widen the state’s parental rights law by adopting the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” regulations.
The most significant aspect of it, according to Ron DeSantis, is that we prevailed in the battle for parental rights. “In Florida, our political system operated effectively and was not tainted by a single, large corporation.”
Ron DeSantis, who rose to national attention by defying official advice on the outbreak, also celebrated the adoption of two laws that highlight his ongoing conflicts with Vice President Joe Biden. One bill makes a provision that prohibits employers and workers from requiring vaccinations permanent, while another protects doctors from losing their board credentials if they openly criticise government health care programmes.
According to DeSantis, doctors were penalised for dissenting from federal “orthodoxy” about the Covid epidemic. One of them was state representative Joel Rudman (R-Navarre), who supported the House resolution after receiving a disciplinary order from a professional body for criticising federal Covid policies.
The orthodoxy was mistaken about many things, according to DeSantis. You want doctors who are confident in their ability to follow the evidence rather than merely going along with the mob.