Q&A of the Day – Bills Vetoed By Florida Governor Ron DeSantis
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Today’s Entry: Today’s topic is a collaborative review of bills vetoed by Governor DeSantis. I’ve received numerous questions pertaining to specific bills DeSantis vetoed prior to the start of the state’s new fiscal year on Monday.
Bottom Line: Covering Florida’s 60-day state legislative session is always an exercise prioritization. With thousands of bills filed and hundreds that typically pass the state legislature every year there’s simply no way to cover everything that’s happening that may potentially impact Floridians. Due to the state’s Republican super majority in the state legislature its often assumed that legislation passed by the legislature will be approved by Governor DeSantis. That’s usually the case but that’s not always the case. During DeSantis’ five state legislative sessions (and additional special sessions) he’s signed over 1,500 bills into law.
As of his most recent veto, he’s vetoed 47 bills from becoming law – meaning he’s only vetoed 3% of what’s been passed to his desk - this is independent of line-item vetoes in budgets. For example, DeSantis vetoed 16 pages worth of spending items for this year’s budget. In terms of veto talk across the state the news media has chosen to spend most of its reporting time discussing the arts funding that he struck from the budget. But rather than diving into a philosophical conversation about why it is that the arts should be allowed to operate at a loss with taxpayers footing the bill for their performances... Occasionally there are high profile bills that pass the state legislature and are vetoed. This year happened to feature more of them than at any prior time during the DeSantis administration. By my count he vetoed 14 bills this year. These are those bills:
- CS HB 1 Online Protections for Minors
- HB 1377 Public Records
- CS/SB 1698 – Food and Hemp Products
- HB 317 – Interstate Safety
- CS/HB 821 – Melbourne-Tillman Water Control District, Brevard County
- CS/CS/SB 494 – Graduate Program Admissions
- CS/CS/HB 1241 – Probation and Community Control Violations
- CS/SB 62 – Resident Status for Tuition Purposes
- SB 1078 – Public Records
- CS/CS/SB 165 – Sampling of beach Waters and Public Bathing Spaces
- CS/CS/HB 473 – Cybersecurity Incident Liability
- CS/HB 133 – Professional Licensing Requirements for Barbers and Cosmetologists
- CS/SB 1082 Housing for Legally Verified Agricultural Workers
- CS/SB 280 – Vacation Rentals
A few of these bills were particularly high profile. The first high profile veto of the bunch came early on in the state legislative session with the veto of the Online Protections for Minors bill which DeSantis thought went too far in restricting social media account access for minors (the legislature quickly passed a less restrictive version DeSantis signed into law). Another of the higher profile vetoes came with the Food and Hemp Products bill that would have made many hemp products currently sold across the state illegal potentially putting numerous stores out of business. The Graduate Program Admissions bill gained a bit of attention. Had it passed it would have lowered graduate school standards for service members. Similarly, the professional licensing requirements bill would have made it easier for convicted criminals to obtain occupational licenses to become a barber or cosmetologist – DeSantis didn’t think that was a good idea. You also had the veto of the sampling of beach water and public bathing spaces veto which leaves the status quo in place but that prompted news outlets to sensationalize stories like this one from MSNBC – headline: DeSantis’ latest veto could have Floridians swimming in poop- because of course that’s what we currently do, right? Btw, the reason DeSantis vetoed that one was that he said the state shouldn’t have its power expanded to supersede the authority of local authorities in operating beaches. How dare he not expand the state’s authority over beaches... (which btw, you know what the headlines would have been had he signed it into law). Btw, that was also the principal behind his veto of the vacation rentals bill as it would have given the state, not local governments, the authority to regulate vacation rentals. Then there was the biggest veto of all. The Interstate Safety veto.
In My March 6th Q&A – Should Governor DeSantis Veto the Interstate Safety Bill I had this to say: The logic behind this legislation, which passed the legislature with overwhelming support, is that it’s far less safe for drivers to be passing vehicles in right lanes which often leads to those vehicles zigzagging through traffic – which is true. However, the unintended consequences of this legislation may mitigate the intended safety benefits while creating additional traffic congestion on already heavily congested roads. Similar legislation was proposed in last year’s session, but it stalled out. This year there was the bipartisan political will in the legislature to get this across the finish line and over to Governor DeSantis’ desk. However, I think it may be in the best interests of Floridians for the governor to pump the brakes on this bill this year.
Prior to the passage of a law that would have the potential to impact the daily commute of nearly half the state’s driving population, I think it would be appropriate for an impact study to be used and understood as the basis for a new “Interstate Safety” law. This bill strikes me as one that’s good in theory but that may not be with practical application given the driving patterns and existing congestion within our state.
The governor clearly agreed. And that’s the wrap on this year’s vetoes.