Florida's new state lawmakers may test DeSantis' influence in final years of his term

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida’s upcoming legislative session could test Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis ’ influence in the state, on the back of his failed attempt to challenge President-elect Donald Trump for the Republican nomination and as he considers his political future beyond the governor’s mansion.

Florida’s incoming legislative leaders formally took their oaths of office Tuesday, ceremonially marking the start of the final two years of DeSantis’ second term at the helm of unified GOP control.

But some capitol watchers say DeSantis is no typical lame duck governor.

Under DeSantis’ leadership, the country’s third most-populous state has cemented its reputation as a national testing ground for conservativism, from restricting abortion to expanding school vouchers and defending gun rights.

He’s shown himself willing to take the bully pulpit and wield the veto pen, and has built a reputation for pushing the boundaries of executive power. The governor won a key electoral victory last month in orchestrating a multipronged campaign against two citizen-backed ballot initiatives that would have protected abortion rights and legalized recreational marijuana in the state.

Both proposed constitutional amendments won solid majorities from Florida voters but failed to clear the 60% threshold required by state law, after the DeSantis administration leveraged multiple state agencies and millions of dollars in public funding to oppose the measures, in an effort that his critics argue violates state law.

In his opening speech to state lawmakers on Tuesday in Tallahassee, incoming Florida Senate President Ben Albritton applauded DeSantis’ campaign against the proposed amendments and defended the use of state money to produce ads that opposed the ballot measures.

“Leading the charge to defeat those two amendments was incredible,” Albritton said, thanking DeSantis for his “principled, focused and dedicated leadership” in undermining the initiatives.

Ben Wilcox, research director of the government watchdog group Integrity Florida, said it appeared DeSantis was able to test the limits of using public resources in campaign messaging.

“Unless somebody is able to rein the governor in, I think we’ll see more of this in the future,” Wilcox said.

For his part, newly sworn-in Florida House Speaker Danny Perez said all government spending should be heavily scrutinized – including the governor’s use of public funding for political messaging.

“Any sort of taxpayer dollars that has ever left the Legislature for whatever use will be under scrutiny,” Perez said.

In past years, state lawmakers have worked quickly to advance DeSantis' agenda and helped build a launching pad for his presidential bid. But noticeably absent from Tuesday's speeches were talks of going after LGBTQ+ issues and diversity initiatives, a push that DeSantis has made his national calling card.

Additionally, both Albritton and Perez questioned DeSantis' call for lawmakers to hold a special session to address soaring maintenance costs for condominium owners, a result of new regulations lawmakers approved after a building in Surfside collapsed and killed 98 people in 2021.

DeSantis has urged state lawmakers to act before the end-of-year deadline to conduct condo inspections. Albritton told reporters Tuesday that the issue should be considered during the regular legislative session that begins March 4, though lawmakers “agree that we need to look very closely at this.”

Albritton, a citrus grower, has said his Christian faith will help guide his conservative leadership as he lays out a vision for what he calls a “rural Renaissance” in the state, where sprawling development continues to carve up natural lands and encroach on the small town way of life.

Perez, who represents a suburban stretch of the state's largest metro area in Miami-Dade County, has said he'll focus on scrutinizing government spending and addressing the state's affordability crisis.

Florida House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell called on her Republican colleagues — who hold a supermajority in both chambers — to help meet the needs of the state's impoverished residents, and to respect the will of a majority of Florida voters who cast a ballot in support of the abortion rights measure.

If it had cleared the 60% threshold, the initiative would have protected the right to an abortion up to the point of viability, which is considered to be somewhere past 21 weeks of pregnancy. The state’s current law bans most abortions after six weeks, before many women know their pregnant.

“I am hopeful that we can revisit the restrictions currently placed on women and their ability to have agencies over their own bodies,” Driscoll said.

But with Republicans maintaining their stronghold over the Legislature, Democrats have little power to stop the majority party from ushering in its latest vision for the state.

___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.