TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — For six years, Gov. Ron DeSantis had a agency grasp on Florida’s legislature. In his second-to-last legislative session, that’s not the case.
Prime lawmakers as soon as stood beside DeSantis on points starting from parental rights and DEI programs to abortion and gun rights. These padded DeSantis’ nationwide profile forward of his unsuccessful presidential bid in 2024.
This yr, the Republican governor seemed to implement President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda, take away state property taxes and handle South Florida’s condominium crisis. As a substitute, his affect dwindled as fellow Republicans publicly defied his directives and even raised questions on his handling of state agencies.
The Legislature adjourned the legislative session late Friday with out a finances ready to be signed by DeSantis, who wields the ability of the line-item veto to solely approve particular appropriations in a finances package deal. Lawmakers prolonged the session till early June after asserting they’ve a framework for a finances. The governor would wish to signal it earlier than July 1, when the fiscal yr begins.
The opposition presents a complete new problem for the term-limited governor who might have aspirations to run for president in 2028. And DeSantis has been amping up his rhetoric towards legislators, labeling them the “Home of Pettiness.”
Listed here are some key points that did not essentially go in DeSantis’ favor:
Lawmakers defied DeSantis on immigration
In January, Republican lawmakers opened after which instantly ended a special session called by DeSantis on Trump’s immigration agenda. Decided to deal with the difficulty on their very own phrases, they then gaveled again in, tossed out the governor’s proposals and introduced their very own.
The rebuke to DeSantis would have been unthinkable in earlier years.
A weekslong standoff ended with the governor signing negotiated immigration measures, which went past Trump’s government orders by mandating the dying penalty for immigrants with out authorized standing who commit capital offences in Florida.
Investigating the Florida first girl’s key initiative
A Florida Home subcommittee started a probe of Hope Florida, an initiative by First Girl Casey DeSantis.
Initially, it centered on a $10 million donation to the Hope Florida Basis as a part of a $67 million settlement between Centene Company, the state’s largest Medicaid contractor, and a state company.
DeSantis had requested legislators to create a Hope Florida Workplace underneath the governor’s oversight. This is able to have helped increase the primary girl’s key initiative forward of the 2026 election, when she is predicted to marketing campaign to exchange her husband as governor.
As a substitute, DeSantis has spent weeks criticizing lawmakers’ probes into the initiative, accusing lawmakers of drawing adverse consideration towards the initiative to “assault the primary girl.”
Rep. Alex Andrade, who chaired the state subcommittee, introduced April 24 that the investigation had ended and he was “firmly satisfied” a number of events have been concerned in a misuse of $10 million in Medicaid funds.
A finances backfires on DeSantis’ want listing
In February, the governor really useful his personal $115.6 billion finances proposal for lawmakers to think about.
The proposal included key measures equivalent to $505 million for immigration enforcement and $1.5 billion for Everglades restoration and water high quality initiatives. It additionally had $2.2 billion in tax aid via some provisions like repealing enterprise lease tax and offering extra gross sales tax holidays.
But the House and the Senate nonetheless have not agreed on a finances. Home Speaker Daniel Perez informed lawmakers to anticipate to return in June to finalize finances approvals previous to the efficient date in July.
The Home is looking for a smaller $113 billion finances, opposite to the Senate’s $117.4 billion spending plan. One primary provision within the Home is a 0.75% lower to gross sales tax, which DeSantis has lambasted. He’s as a substitute pushing to roll again the state’s property taxes. The Senate plan would not embrace that gross sales tax lower.
All through April, DeSantis repeatedly criticized the Home for disagreements on the finances, whether or not associated to Everglades restoration, legislation enforcement funding or tax cuts.
“They’re the least-productive Florida Home of Representatives that we’ve had within the fashionable historical past of the Florida Republican Get together,” DeSantis stated in an April 16 press convention in Fort Myers.
Expensive apartment woes
The preliminary particular session for immigration in January additionally was meant to deal with condominium points, since homeowners are going through hikes in property insurance coverage charges and elevated affiliation prices. As a substitute, legislators centered on these provisions within the ultimate weeks of session.
A 2022 legislation passed after the Surfside condominium collapse means apartment homeowners have confronted greater prices as a result of associations are legally required to have sufficient reserves for main repairs. The legislation additionally requires a survey of reserves each decade.
This session, lawmakers aimed to alleviate a few of these price hikes for apartment homeowners, which principally have an effect on residents in South Florida and retirees on mounted incomes. The invoice was despatched to the governor Wednesday, permitting apartment associations to fund reserves via strains of credit score and provides residents extra flexibility to pause funds to their reserves whereas dealing with repairs and upkeep.
Within the weeks resulting in the invoice’s passage, the Home and Senate introduced two completely different variations, with the Home model extensively criticized by the governor. In April, DeSantis stated the Home invoice would enable folks to be “pushed out of their houses” and “pave the best way for builders to earn more money.”
“Let’s acknowledge that these penalties should not what we wish, and let’s present reforms to have the ability to hold folks of their apartment models,” DeSantis stated of the Home model.
