Despite a veto threat from Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Florida House on Wednesday passed a bill that would limit his sway in state university and college presidential searches.
The legislation, which only a handful of GOP members voted against, says officials like the governor can’t talk with higher education leadership about a presidential position vacancy or an anticipated vacancy.
DeSantis has blasted the bill, HB 1321, saying it would “pave the way for the 'rewokification' of Florida's higher education system.”
“They do not want elected officials to hold universities accountable,” he said in recent remarks. “They will revert back to leftist ideology.”
Wednesday’s vote represented a bipartisan rejection of the governor’s political preferences. But Republican Rep. Michelle Salzman of Pensacola, the bill sponsor, said it wasn’t “an attack on our great governor.”
“This is about transparency in government,” she said.
The legislation would also repeal a shield placed on public higher education presidential search records that lawmakers created in 2022. The hidden information includes the names of candidates who weren’t finalists.
ALSO READ: Florida lawmakers seek 'transparency' in higher education searches
It would create term limits for the State University System Board of Governors, the State Board of Education, as well as the boards of trustees for individual colleges and universities.
Board of Governors members, for example, would be limited to a single seven-year term. They would have to file financial disclosures, too.
Members would also have to be Florida residents or graduates of a state university. Those on boards of trustees would have the same requirement, though if they're not residents, they must have graduated from the institution they represent.
Under the legislation, the boards of trustees wouldn’t need the Board of Governors’ approval for a presidential pick. Regardless, the governor appoints the majority of members on the Board of Governors and the boards of trustees.
“We are not removing the governor's power from anything,” Salzman said. “He appoints the people that are making these choices.”
This legislation follows the pick of former Republican U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse to lead the University of Florida. He was the sole finalist for the position, and his spending practices during his less than two years in office drew significant criticism.
Jeanette Nuñez, DeSantis’ former lieutenant governor, also notably got selected as Florida International University’s interim president earlier this year.
Additionally, DeSantis recently said he pushed to make former state lawmaker Randy Fine, a now-U.S. House Republican whom he’s been feuding with, president of Florida Atlantic University because he “repelled people in the Legislature.” Fine, in contrast, told Florida Politics that DeSantis "begged" him to apply for the job and guessed it was the governor who wanted him out of Tallahassee.
The governor and the Senate
Similar Senate legislation, SB 1726, doesn’t go as far.
It doesn’t prevent the governor from promoting a candidate, and it doesn’t repeal the public records shield. It does say that at least three presidential finalists need to be selected.
At a Wednesday morning press conference, DeSantis predicted that the Senate wouldn’t take up the House’s version.
“I don’t think that’s going to get on the desk,” he said. “If it does, we’ll invite you all to the ceremony where we’ll veto it.”
If you have any questions about the legislative session, you can ask the Your Florida team by clicking here.
This story was produced by WUSF as part of a statewide journalism initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
