How GOP infighting is defining Florida's legislative session
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Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
This year's legislative session may be remembered less for new laws and more for how often state lawmakers defied Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Why it matters: One-party rule hasn't spared Florida from dysfunction, as lawmakers feud, the budget stalls, and a May 2 deadline looms with few bills reaching DeSantis' desk.
- Here's how the chaos unfolded.
Catch up quick: DeSantis emerged from his failed presidential campaign wounded and too late in last year's legislative session to wield much influence over the agenda.
- Political analysts told Axios that DeSantis' defeat on the national stage would hamper his clout back home and that some lawmakers would even take "delight in defying him."
- Enter House Speaker Daniel Perez (R-Miami), whose allies boasted upon his selection to lead the Florida House from 2024 to 2026 that he'd "take the House back." He proved that true in January.
Zoom in: When DeSantis called for a special session to preempt President Trump's crackdown on undocumented immigration, GOP leaders pushed back, calling it "premature" and noting DeSantis had offered no bill language.
- Perez and Senate President Ben Albritton (R-Wauchula) gaveled in and gaveled out of DeSantis' session, then convened their own and passed a slate of immigration reforms in place of the governor's ideas.
- But after weeks of personal attacks and threats of congressional hearings, DeSantis and the state Legislature reached an agreement. Tensions didn't stay cool for long, however.
Follow the money: After the Legislature voted in January to override a couple of the governor's line-item vetoes, the House overrode four more that totaled $4.74 million in March, much to DeSantis' chagrin.
- When DeSantis pitched eliminating property taxes, Perez countered in March with a plan to cut the state sales tax from 6% to 5.25% instead.
- The House also probed a $10 million payment to Hope Florida — a charity tied to First Lady Casey DeSantis — that was routed to a pair of nonprofits that later sent millions to political committees used to defeat Amendment 3 last year.
The Legislature is also at war with itself.
- The House and Senate still can't agree on a budget, with the House plan coming in $4.4 billion lower than the Senate's.
- The major point of contention is the tax cuts, with Albritton intent on a diluted hybrid of DeSantis' and Perez's proposals.
The bottom line: GOP infighting could leave taxpayers with one of the longest, least productive legislative sessions in recent memory.