South Florida lawmaker’s push to ban almost all abortions is among Florida bills unlikely to pass
TALLAHASSEE
Culture-war issues have dominated the Legislature in Tallahassee for the past couple years.
But this year, while several Republican-backed bills have garnered national media attention, state leadership has moved quickly to say those bills aren’t going anywhere.
Last week, a GOP senator’s bill to use Florida taxpayer money to pay off Trump’s legal expenses was torpedoed by a short social-media post from Gov. Ron DeSantis. DeSantis made clear that the “Florida Republican who wields the veto pen” had no interest in the legislation. (The bill’s sponsor withdrew it.)
DeSantis, who until recently had focused much of his attention on his White House bid, has so far been quieter on his agenda for state issues. Meanwhile, Senate and House leaders have prioritized bills this year related to kids’ social-media usage and building up Florida’s healthcare workforce.
Each year, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle file bills each year that might never get a chance at a first committee hearing, let alone at passing both chambers.
Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, has filed several pieces of legislation that likely will not move through the legislative process this year. One proposes to create the “Kamala Harris Truth in Slavery Teaching Act,” and another would prohibit governments from paying reparations to the descendants of slaves.
Ingoglia said he hopes his bills can start conversations.
“I file bills that I believe in and make good public policy,” Ingoglia said. “Others may not believe it’s good public policy yet, but that’s how you get things done.”
With DeSantis off the presidential campaign trail, it’s unclear whether the governor will reintroduce some more highprofile, culture-war legislation into this year’s session.
Some controversial bills are still moving forward, including legislation that would ban flying the LGBTQ pride flag at government buildings, a bill that could require private insurers to cover conversion therapy and legislation that would prevent local leaders from removing Confederate monuments.
No legislation is truly dead until the lawmakers gavel out the 60-day session, which is scheduled to end March 8.
Here are some bills that leadership has said won’t move this session.
TOTAL FLORIDA ABORTION BAN
After passing a six-week abortion ban last session, lawmakers are unlikely to further restrict the procedure this year despite a lawmaker’s bill to create a total ban on abortion in Florida.
The bill from Rep. David Borrero, R-Sweetwater, would allow abortion only to save the life of the mother. But it has no Senate sponsor, and Senate President Kathleen Passidomo said she does not support the idea.
House Speaker Paul Renner said he doesn’t think people are in a place where they are “ready to take that step.”
“Right now that’s not where I think the majority of Floridians would be and I respect that,” Renner said.
He instead said the Legislature will stay put on its six-week policy, which could take effect depending on the outcome of a Florida Supreme Court case, and hopefully see it implemented.
ALLOWING OPEN CARRY OF GUNS
A bill filed by Rep. Mike Beltran, R-Riverview, would allow people to openly carry firearms in Florida.
Last year, when Florida lawmakers passed a permitless-carry bill, gun advocates came to Tallahassee in droves to push for open carry, but lawmakers resisted.
Renner said this month that “there’s not an appetite in both chambers” to pass open carry, although he supports it personally.
“We always have to measure whether it’s worth the committee time, the House floor time, to pass a bill that would be controversial, that would take a lot of time, that we know is dead on arrival,” Renner said at a news conference.
Passidomo, who supported the permitlesscarry bill, said she listened to Florida sheriffs in coming to her decision to oppose open carry.
ELIMINATING EXCUSE-FREE VOTE BY MAIL
Ingoglia has proposed rolling back the state’s no-excuse vote-by-mail policy, enacted by Republicans decades ago. The bill would allow Floridians to vote by mail only if they are physically outside their county, sick or in jail as long as they are still qualified to vote. (It also would expand early voting hours.)
“I think that voting in person is the absolute safest way of voting,” Ingoglia, who has voted by mail multiple times himself, told reporters this month. “Anything outside of voting in person, there’s going to be a risk.”
The legislation sparked headlines and suspicion that Republicans were trying to stamp out their Democratic opposition. Voting by mail was more popular among Republicans until the COVID-19 pandemic, when Democrats for the first time surpassed them.
But when asked whether they supported the idea, both Passidomo and Renner gave a curt “no.”
“I think most members feel that at this point our vote-by-mail process is safe and secure,” Passidomo said, adding that many elderly Floridians — including her late parents — liked the process.