DeSantis’ to-do list grows
200 pending laws, state budget have to wait until after pandemic
TALLAHASSEE – Gov. DeSantis has spent nearly all of the past two months responding to the coronavirus pandemic, saying he has little time to address other matters.
But his to-do list has grown larger while attending to the crisis.
He’s already past a self-imposed deadline of May 1 to fill two Florida Supreme Court vacancies – a deadline he extended past the March 23 deadline set in state law. And there are nearly 200 regular session bills that have yet to be sent to his desk, which he must act upon by July 1.
There’s also a $93 billion budget that lawmakers passed in March but haven’t formally sent to him, either. He has until June 30 to
sign it and veto line items, but the fate of the spending plan has been thrown into question by the economic crisis related to the coronavirus response.
DeSantis spokeswoman Helen Ferre said the governor will take the proper time to vet justice nominees and go through the budget.
“Governor DeSantis is meticulous in his research of Florida Supreme Court judges,” Ferre stated in an email. “Additionally, he has until July 1 to sign the budget. These are important decisions that the governor will make, and Floridians can rest assured that he will be thoughtful and measured in his response.”
Under state law, a governor has 60 days after the Judicial Nominating Committee submits its slate of nominees to pick a justice, and his choice is not subject to Senate approval. The JNC, a nine-member panel of gubernatorial appointees, submitted 12 names on Jan. 23, but DeSantis in March said he’d use his authority under the state of emergency he declared for the coronavirus pandemic to extend the deadline to May 1.
The state’s high court, meanwhile, has been operating with five justices, the minimum needed for a quorum, since December. The openings occurred when two justices previously appointed by DeSantis — Robert Luck and Barbara
Lagoa — were confirmed to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals by the U.S. Senate.
The end of the legislative session coincided with the shutdown of much of Florida’s economy, as Disney World and other theme parks closed the same week in mid-March that lawmakers passed the budget and adjourned.
During the session, the Legislature passed 206 bills, 16 of which DeSantis has already signed into law. There are 190 that have yet to be formally sent to his desk, including high-priority bills such as SB 664, which requires businesses to use E-Verify or a similar system to check the immigration status of potential hires.
It was part of DeSantis’ campaign platform and one of his top legislative priorities, but it could also impinge on employers’ ability to revamp operations after coronavirus restrictions are lifted, especially in the agriculture sector, which has seen vast amounts of crops destroyed because of lack of demand when restaurants closed much of their operations.
Another of the bills is the budget, which is based on revenue projections made by state economists in January, before the coronavirus-induced economic crunch.
DeSantis has said he’s likely to sign the budget while vetoing large amounts of projects to give the state enough of a cushion to handle any revenue losses and expenses related to the response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
But that plan might not work as well as expected.
“A big veto year – is that another $100 or $200 or $300 million? We’re talking about more significant amounts than that,” said Rep. Travis Cummings, RFleming Island, the House budget chief.
A preliminary report from the Department of Revenue shows sales tax collections were $770 million below the estimate for March alone.
And the vetoes might not be enough to stave off a special session, which DeSantis has suggested might not be needed, for legislators to rewrite the budget based on new revenue projections reflecting the coronavirus reality.
There will be more economic data in the coming months for DeSantis, lawmakers and state economists to review before determining how to handle the budget, even though DeSantis must sign it before the fiscal year begins July 1.
April’s revenue figures won’t be available until the end of May. The reopening of much of the state, Phase 1 of which began Monday, will also play into how quickly the state can rebound and thus how big of a drop in revenues Florida will face.
“The bigger question is what does it look like in these months moving forward as well as how long does our economy take to recover as a tourism state?” Cummings said.