Florida Legislature rebukes Gov. DeSantis, overrides budget veto, introduces immigration bills

Florida Legislature rebukes Gov. DeSantis on special session

Florida’s Republican-controlled Legislature will revamp immigration laws this week but issued a sharp rebuke Monday to Gov. Ron DeSantis that included overriding a budget veto from last year.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida’s Republican-controlled Legislature will revamp immigration laws this week but issued a sharp rebuke Monday to Gov. Ron DeSantis that included overriding a budget veto from last year.

‘The Florida Legislature matters’

The backstory:

Florida’s Legislature on Monday rebuked Gov. Ron DeSantis by overriding a $57 million budget veto and rejecting his proposed special session agenda.

Lawmakers quickly ended DeSantis' session, initiated their own, and introduced immigration bills addressing law enforcement funding and tuition rules for undocumented students. The Legislature’s immigration proposals diverge from DeSantis’ stricter measures and grant enforcement powers to the state’s agriculture department.

DeSantis on Jan. 13 called a special session to address immigration and other issues, including ballot initiatives and hurricane relief, citing alignment with the policies of President Donald Trump. Legislative leaders deemed the session premature and rejected it, citing the need for meaningful deliberations. The Legislature has generally supported DeSantis since 2019, but this marks the first significant internal GOP clash.

While speculation had swirled for two weeks about whether lawmakers would go along with DeSantis’ special session wishes, perhaps the most surprising move Monday was their nearly unanimous override of a DeSantis budget veto from last year — the first time the Legislature has overridden DeSantis.

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.

After ending the DeSantis-called session and opening their own session, the House and Senate released identical bills (HB 1B and SB 2-B) that address immigration issues.

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

Also, according to the summary, the measures would provide $500 million to help local law-enforcement agencies 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.

By the numbers:

House members voted unanimously to override the veto, while the Senate voted 35-1. The only opponent was Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, a Spring Hill Republican and DeSantis ally.

What they're saying:

Senate President Ben Albritton emphasized the Legislature’s independence and constitutional role.

"The Florida Legislature matters," said Sen. Albritton, R-Wauchula. "Our opinions matter. Our voices matter. The Florida Constitution says so."

House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, criticized the session and condemned tactics to pressure lawmakers.

He told the chamber, "I believe special sessions should be used sparingly. They should not be stunts designed to generate headlines. And the truth is, 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 A (the DeSantis call for the special session) simply do not meet that threshold."

DeSantis posted a statement Monday on X that said the Legislature's immigration proposal is "substantially weaker than the proposals I outlined and that are necessary to ensure that Florida leads on fulfilling the Trump Administration’s mandate to enforce immigration law and deport illegal aliens."

"This is a unique moment in American history," DeSantis said in the statement. "We are either going to reclaim our sovereignty, uphold the law, and protect our citizens or allow this moment to slip away. We need strong immigration legislation that ensures Florida is doing everything it can to assist this important federal mission. 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."

DeSantis clearly rankled legislative leaders by calling the special session — and then tried to ratchet up pressure on lawmakers to go along with his wishes, particularly on immigration.

While he didn’t directly link the actions to DeSantis, Perez said that "in the last week, attempts have been made to bully members of this House, including sending out mass emails and text messages with members’ personal cell phone numbers on them. Attacks on this body, attacks on all of you, are not acceptable. This House will never be moved by threats."

But Rep. Mike Caruso, a Delray Beach Republican who filed a series of bills that would have helped carry out DeSantis’ special-session priorities on immigration and the ballot-initiative process, questioned the Legislature’s clash with DeSantis.

"Republicans got their power because we stayed together for the last six years, and as a result, we got a super-majority, and now they have the governor and the speaker going at each other," Caruso said. "That's not a way to lead this state."

Why you should care:

This marks a pivotal moment in Florida politics, as divisions within the Republican Party could impact future policymaking and DeSantis' leadership. Proposed immigration changes could affect tuition costs, local law enforcement, and state governance structures. Florida’s approach may set precedents for other GOP-led states grappling with immigration policy.

What's next:

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

With the annual regular legislative 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.

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