Florida Legislature rebukes DeSantis, calls its own special session on immigration

Florida legislative leaders quickly gaveled out a special session called by Gov. Ron DeSantis just moments after it opened Monday morning, announcing they would be gaveling in their own later that day.

DeSantis called for the special session this month to focus on supporting President Donald Trump’s enforcement of immigration laws. The Republican governor announced several priorities and had lawmakers file bills aligning with his policy vision.

Senate President Ben Albritton and House Speaker Daniel Perez, both Republicans, weren’t having it.

"I believe special sessions should be used sparingly," Perez said during his address to the House. "They should not be stunts designed to generate headlines.

"I dislike special sessions because they inhibit the very thing the legislative process should encourage: the push and pull of meaningful conversations that lead to the development of good and better ideas. Special sessions should be reserved for those issues that truly cannot be addressed in the normal course of the legislative process. Most of the issues raised in the proclamation for special session simply do not meet that threshold.

"We do not have to choose between right now and getting it right."

In remarks to the Senate, Albritton criticized several of the proposals from DeSantis and sent thinly veiled barbs at him.

“As long as I have the honor to serve as your Senate president, I'm not going to sit idly by and allow anyone to ignore the constitutional authority the people of Florida have given the Legislature to write the laws of this state," he said. "The Florida Legislature matters. Our opinions matter, our voices matter. The Florida Constitution says so, and more importantly, so do our constituents,."

Instead, Albritton announced that he and Perez would be jointly calling their own special session later Monday, with a bill sponsored by Sen. Joe Gruters, a close Trump ally who endorsed the president in his Republican presidential primary over DeSantis.

That session will be focused on immigration, but it will also overturn several line-item budget vetoes DeSantis made during the last legislative session.

Albritton also said he trusts Trump’s leadership. He said the bills pursued in their special session were formed by reviewing Trump's executive orders, guidance and clarification from his White House team, and the thoughts and feedback of many senators and leaders of the law enforcement community.

“Sometimes leadership isn't about being out front on an issue. It's actually about following the leader you trust. For my part, I trust President Trump,” he said.

The House and Senate released identical bills (HB 1B and SB 2B) that address immigration issues. The 75-page proposal is being called the Tackling and Reforming Unlawful Migration Policy, or TRUMP Act.

Both chambers scheduled committee meetings Monday afternoon to consider the bills, with Perez saying the full House is expected to vote Tuesday.

A summary released by the House and Senate said the bills include repealing a 2014 law that allows immigrant students in the country illegally to avoid paying higher out-of-state tuition rates at Florida colleges and universities if they meet certain criteria.

Also, the measures would provide $500 million to help local law enforcement in fighting illegal immigration

Among other things, the measures would name Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson as the state’s chief immigration officer and establish the Office of State Immigration Enforcement within his department’s Division of Law Enforcement.

DeSantis said in a post on the social platform X that he was glad lawmakers were considering many of his proposals, but called their proposed legislation “substantially weaker.” The governor also criticized its provision to give immigration enforcement power to the state's agriculture commissioner, saying it “puts the fox in charge of the hen house.”

“We need strong immigration legislation that ensures Florida is doing everything it can to assist this important federal mission," DeSantis wrote. "The Legislature’s bill is a bait-and-switch tactic trying to create the illusion of an illegal immigration crack down, when it does anything but. It is an insult to name such a weak bill after President Trump, who has been so strong on this issue."

To further in his criticisms, DeSantis posted a video on X Monday afternoon casting the bill proposed by legislators as “window dressing" and “theatrics.” He said that voters "spoke loud and clear over many election cycles that they want to be strong on illegal immigration.”

“The only thing we need to do is to do things that are going to actually solve the problems for Floridians once and for all,” DeSantis said.

Shortly after, Albritton and Perez released a joint statement contending that the governor's remarks insulted Simpson, local law enforcement and the agricultural community.

“Our number one goal is to work together with President Trump. Anyone that says anything otherwise is not reading the bill, not reading the executive orders, or just not telling the truth,” the joint statement read.

With the regular session starting March 4, lawmakers will not use the special session to address the other issues raised by DeSantis, such as making changes to condominium regulations.

Albritton said the veto overrides included several things that prevented the Legislature from doing its job, including budget allocations for online services to make public details about bills as well as other expenses.

"Separation of powers exist for a reason,” he said.

DeSantis vetoed $57 million from the Legislature’s budget that Perez said funded a variety of “backend operations.” Perez said the Legislature had to dip into reserves to avoid firing employees or shutting down operations.

“This veto was at best a misunderstanding of the importance of the appropriation or at worst an attempt to threaten the independence of our separate branch of government,” Perez said.

House members voted unanimously to override the veto. The Senate voted 35-1, with Spring Hill Republican Blaise Ingoglia the only no.

Monday’s statehouse showdown would have been unthinkable in years past, when DeSantis wielded power over the Republican-controlled Legislature like no other governor in recent Florida history. But lawmakers' refusal to sign off on DeSantis’ plan signals a significant shift in the statehouse dynamics.

“Sometimes it just feels like the Legislature is there to do the bidding of the governor and maybe that’s not the way it ought to be," said Republican state Sen. Ed Hooper. of Palm Harbor. "We’ll see who wins.”

The Legislature is now in “new territory,” said House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, with Republicans showing their willingness to challenge the governor head-on. While the Tampa Democrat says DeSantis has done more than any Florida governor in recent memory to exploit his executive authority, the fact remains that he needs state lawmakers to actually make the laws.

“They let the governor know we will override you. And we have the numbers to do so at any time,” Driskell said.

Information from News Service of Florida and the Associated Press was used in this report.

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