Florida's GOP skirmish has been dominated by lawmakers. It's DeSantis' turn now.
TALLAHASSEE, Florida — It was a bumpy six months, filled with open intra-GOP feuds with Gov. Ron DeSantis. But Florida's Republican-controlled Legislature crawled to the finish line of their annual session late Monday night, closing out a new state budget after plenty of policy and personal squabbles.
Now it's the governor's turn to have a say on the matter.
DeSantis' firm control over the Legislature has clearly ended after years of nearly total domination. But GOP legislators who defied him — and this spring probed an initiative launched by first lady Casey DeSantis — await the potential fallout from a governor who must decide what to veto from the $115 billion budget they approved nearly unanimously.
'I don't believe he will play that game,' said state Rep. Vicki Lopez, a Miami Republican who several times this year grilled top DeSantis administration officials in her committee meetings. 'I don't think it will be good for either one of us. I'm hopeful he will look at what we're doing and actually compare the merits of our work to what we really sought out to do for Floridians.'
That may be wishful thinking. DeSantis' willingness to act against political rivals and enemies is well documented. Several times during the session, he openly questioned why Republicans did not follow his lead on the budget and other issues.
Republican leaders have tried to position the finger-pointing and tension of the past few months as a signal the Legislature is reasserting itself as a 'co-equal branch of government,' resulting in a 'better product.'
'We were able to have a difference of opinion,' said House Speaker Daniel Perez. 'I do believe, now more than ever, that the House's opinion matters.'
DeSantis has until the end of the month to figure out what and how much he will veto from a spending plan that wound up $3 billion less than this year's current budget. He is currently in Paris on a trade mission trip but is expected to return later this week.
Eventual vetoes could close what's been a tumultuous period in Tallahassee. It started in January, when DeSantis demanded legislators ramp up the state's efforts to assist President Donald Trump's mass deportation efforts. It took three special sessions before a deal on a new immigration law was reached. During one of the special sessions, the Legislature overrode a budget veto from last year — the first time that happened to a GOP governor since Republicans took control in the 1990s.
And it got more contentious from there.
'It's been a ride, that's for sure,' said state Rep. Alex Rizo, a Hialeah Republican and former chair of the Miami-Dade Republican Party, minutes after the session ended.
The state House looked into Hope Florida — an effort to steer people away from government aid programs — and how $10 million from a settlement with a Medicaid vendor wound up in the accounts of a nonprofit associated with Hope Florida. That organization then gave money to two groups that quickly placed millions into a campaign against a proposed amendment to legalize recreational marijuana.
The Hope Florida probe drew the wrath of DeSantis, and he repeatedly lashed into House Republicans. But that wasn't the only flash point. The state Senate failed to confirm two agency heads who had involvement with the initiative, as well as several appointees to state university boards. The Legislature also declined to give extra funding to Hope Florida sought by the administration.
DeSantis was also involved somewhat in the protracted battle over taxes that caused the session to last 105 days instead of its normal 60-day period. Perez pushed for a mammoth cut in the state sales tax rate that was resisted by both the governor and Senate Republicans. Perez agreed to a smaller version of his tax cut plan in early May in a deal with Senate President Ben Albritton, only to have the agreement fall apart amid a veto threat from the governor.
One of DeSantis' main objections: his assertion that a big sales tax cut would undercut a chance to cut property taxes. At one point, DeSantis also called on legislators to offer up a $1,000 rebate to Floridians eligible for a homestead exemption on their taxes. That idea never gained traction.
The final tax cut package approved Monday was much smaller, although Perez and House Republicans claimed victory because the overall budget was smaller than DeSantis recommended.
By the end of the session, plenty of legislative pushes had been cast aside.
Albritton's signature 'rural renaissance' plan to bolster rural counties died amid the budget fight. An effort to regulate hemp — which was vetoed last year — fell apart, as did a push to more tightly keep tabs on Florida's $4 billion school voucher program. Perez called for an end to 'cronyism' in the state's university system, but the legislation withered due to opposition from DeSantis and the Senate, even as more top allies of the governor won high-paying jobs at colleges.
Legislators did not spend as much time on emotionally charged issues such as abortion or gender identity as they did in the run-up to DeSantis' unsuccessful run for president. But promises to tackle issues such as property insurance and property taxes floundered, although both Albritton and Perez maintain legislators will craft a plan to lower property taxes over the next several months.
Albritton, when meeting with reporters Monday, pushed back on the notion the session was a 'failure' and praised the tax cuts that did pass, as well as efforts to promote citrus research and a move to bolster food aid programs controlled by the state. He also sidestepped the months of political fights with the governor.
'Naturally, in the political process, there are disagreements that happen,' Albritton said. 'I think it's important to say it now, Floridians do not want a government that is infiltrated by group think.'
While most Floridians saw little progress on property taxes, property insurance or the state's affordability crisis, legislators did sign off on several key items sought by Florida's business groups including the elimination of sales taxes on business rent and strict new restrictions on ballot initiatives.
The new law on proposed constitutional amendments sparked a federal lawsuit, but it appears the clampdown may have already had its intended effect by disrupting a second effort to legalize recreational marijuana. Voters narrowly rejected the first attempt last November.
The session was not a complete loss for DeSantis. He did win approval of multiple signature items in the budget, such as money for law enforcement recruitment bonuses and money to pay down existing state debt. In some instances, however, the amounts fell below what he requested.
For now the waiting begins on how DeSantis will ultimately react. Some legislators on Monday wondered aloud whether they would be returning to Tallahassee soon at the command of the governor. Several expressed cautious optimism that DeSantis garnered enough success to move onward.
'Not everybody got what they wanted, but they got what they needed,' said newly elected state Sen. Debbie Mayfield, the Brevard County Republican who had to go to court this year to overcome an effort to block her from the ballot by the DeSantis administration. 'We all worked together. … That's the legislative process.'
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