How DeSantis gave Democrats the ‘session from hell’

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida’s Republican-controlled Legislature ended its session calmly on Friday, wrapping up a monumental stretch of lawmaking that will serve as the springboard for Gov. Ron DeSantis when he begins his expected run for president in the next few weeks.

The relatively lightweight final day was in contrast to the frantic and emotionally charged moments that had dominated the 59 days of the annual session — one of the most productive stretches of right-wing lawmaking any state’s seen in years. Week after week, legislators pushed through measures dealing with abortion, guns, the death penalty, immigration, schools and gender identity, sometimes amid protests inside the capital.

It was a session that saw one GOP legislator call transgender activists “demons” and “imps” while another, in defending Republicans, said terrorists “hate homosexuals more than we do.”

And it revealed a powerful governor at the zenith of his sway. DeSantis’ allies in the Legislature delivered nearly everything he asked for, whether it was imposing new regulations on Disney or a law designed to block China from buying land in Florida.

DeSantis successfully pushed Republican lawmakers to fulfill his conservative agenda, and legislators acknowledged that DeSantis is emerging from the session with a checklist that is unrivaled by other recent Florida governors. If the governor worried at any point that his conservative victories could become liabilities with moderate Republican voters or in a general election, he did not show it — choosing instead to push for every last bill lawmakers would pass.

“I believe it would be political malpractice if he does not run for president,” said state Rep. Spencer Roach, a North Fort Myers Republican. “He has to capitalize on this moment.”

DeSantis is expected to sign many of the bills he championed soon, even as he continues making appearances out of state, including in Wisconsin this weekend and then in Iowa and Illinois later this month. Just hours after touting his legislative victories at the capital, DeSantis signed into law a measure that allows a board put in place to oversee land used by Disney in order to void a development agreement a previous board had inked with the entertainment giant.

He is also expected to review and sign into law a record $117 billion budget that contains millions set aside for expected legal challenges to many of the bills passed this year — as well as more funding to transport migrants to other parts of the country.

The governor on Friday largely sidestepped questions about his political future and a likely presidential campaign but acknowledged that he would clear up any remaining ambiguity shortly. He also brushed aside talk that he needs to jump into the presidential race as soon as possible as “chatter.”

“We’ll get on that relatively soon,” DeSantis said. “You either got to put up or shut up on that as well.”

Democrats, outgunned and relegated to superminority status, called the past two months the “session from hell” dedicated to an “extremist agenda.”

State Sen. Jason Pizzo, a South Florida Democrat, said the session was “sadly overshadowed by the aspirations of an absentee governor.”

Nikki Fried, the Florida Democratic Party chair, said DeSantis and legislators were “hellbent on stripping away the very freedoms we hold dear — from reproductive rights and academic freedoms to the right to love who we love.”

The session wasn’t completely about DeSantis. Republican legislative leaders were also able to push forward their own substantial priorities, including a measure championed by House Speaker Paul Renner to offer private school vouchers to any family that wanted them regardless of income. Senate President Kathleen Passidomo got a major affordable housing proposal into law.

And there were even a handful of bipartisan moments, including passage of a bill to expand eligibility in the state’s subsidized children’s health insurance program and a permanent tax break for household items like diapers.

But most of the focus remained squarely on DeSantis’ and his legislative wish list. Lawmakers not only gave DeSantis what he wanted on a long line of culture war issues, they also agreed to change state law so he does not have to resign if he becomes the Republican nominee for president. The GOP also used its supermajority to pass a bill shielding his travel records from public scrutiny.

DeSantis on Friday touted several education proposals that Republican lawmakers passed this session, highlighted by legislators expanding the state’s parental rights law by broadening the policies labeled “Don’t Say Gay” by critics

“The most important thing about all this is that we won the fight about parents’ rights,” DeSantis said. “In the state of Florida, our political process worked well, and it was not perverted by one very powerful company.”

DeSantis — who gained national prominence by bucking the federal government’s pandemic guidance — also heralded the passage of two measures that spotlight his continued battles with President Joe Biden. One bill makes permanent a law that bans vaccine requirements for employees and businesses, and another measure shields doctors from losing board certifications for publicly speaking against government health care policies.

DeSantis said doctors were punished for speaking against the federal “orthodoxy” about the Covid pandemic. One of them was state Rep. Joel Rudman (R-Navarre), who sponsored the House measure after he was sanctioned by a professional board after he criticized federal Covid policy.

“There's a lot of things that the orthodoxy was wrong about,” DeSantis said. “You want physicians that feel competent they can follow the evidence, rather than just following the crowd.”