TALLAHASSEE, Florida – With less than nine months left in office, Governor Ron DeSantis has repeatedly said he has “left no meat on the bones” during his two terms in office – a tenure that has seen him run for president, push policies dealing with gender, race, education and abortion, help Republicans flip the U.S. House and expand his power like no other governor before him.
But as time goes on, he has embarked on another round of legacy-building, launching an ambitious final effort that could face severe backlash and throw his final year in office into disarray as he begins to assess his future.
DeSantis on Wednesday delayed a special session by a week, where he wants lawmakers to pass a new redistricting map before the 2026 midterms. But he also called on them to enact an artificial intelligence “bill of rights” that could put Florida at odds with President Donald Trump, as well as a controversial “medical freedom” measure that would make it easier for parents to opt out of vaccine requirements. The four-day special session is scheduled to begin on April 28.
Redistricting could easily happen with a Republican-controlled legislature, though it may depend on which map the governor submits. But two other items on the new to-do list were rejected by the Rajya Sabha during its regular session that ended in March.
and beyond the special session, the State House and the Senate He himself is confused about the new budget of the state It needs to be passed by July 1. Additionally, the governor has also repeatedly promised that he will create a plan to reform property taxes that will go to voters this fall. This has not happened till now.
“Governor DeSantis is clearly still understanding his relevance in his final year as governor,” said Miami Republican state Rep. Juan Carlos Porras, a critic of the governor. “This is not shocking to any of us in the Legislature.”
DeSantis had almost universal influence on the legislature before his unsuccessful run for president in 2024. That dominance has since ended; For the past 15 months he has been openly feuding with House Speaker Daniel Perez, who has vowed to restore the independence of his chamber. It was the Perez chamber that led the investigation into the nonprofit foundation linked to the Hope Florida initiative started by First Lady Casey DeSantis.
State Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia, a longtime ally of DeSantis who was appointed to his Cabinet post by the governor last year, said DeSantis’ move to pursue the legislature follows his track record during his time in office.
“The governor has always been aggressive on policy, he sees this as another opportunity to get something done before he leaves office,” Ingoglia said.
The governor’s office declined a request for comment.
There may also be political mathematics behind this. DeSantis’ stance on AI distances him from Trump and some other Republicans, including GOP Rep. Byron Donalds, the current front-runner in the race for Florida governor, who has the president’s support — but not DeSantis.
“He really believes the AI thing is necessary,” said a Florida Republican operative familiar with the governor’s thinking, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly. “It polls pretty well and it separates him from the herd.”
DeSantis, who helped the GOP gain four seats in 2022 through the Florida map, first called for a redistricting special session in January. It was scheduled to begin on Monday, but as opening day approached, there was no indication that the Legislature or the governor’s office had drawn up a map. DeSantis has insisted that the state should redraw its boundaries to eliminate districts drawn for racial considerations – a position he said would soon be endorsed by the U.S. Supreme Court in a pending case.
Such a move could help Republicans maintain control of Congress, even though partisan gerrymandering is illegal under Florida law. Virginians will vote next week on a referendum that could help Democrats gain seats in that state, but DeSantis has insisted that is not guiding his decisions.
While Democrats have criticized redistricting as “illegal” and an attempt at a power grab, Republicans in the Florida House and Senate are open to moving forward.
It’s other issues that DeSantis has now asked the Legislature to address that may face a wall of resistance.
DeSantis, who has emerged as a prominent AI critic, threw heavy support behind a list of technology regulations Less interest was seen in this from the House. Even with a revised session on the horizon, it’s likely the same scenario will play out again in the coming days: The AI ”bill of rights” pushed by DeSantis and supported by the Senate could again die in the House.
Senators are preparing to drive it back with the exact same legislation passed during the regular legislative session with bipartisan support, in hopes that House members will change their tune. However, the House has shown no signs of backing down from its position, supporting the Trump administration’s goal of federal, top-down AI regulations.
The Senate proposal would require chatbot platforms to share information with parents, including all of their children’s interactions with AI. Under the law, parents will be able to limit the time their children use chatbots and receive notifications if children share any thoughts about harming themselves or others.
In another change, the law would impose new restrictions on the state’s youngest students using technology in school, allowing parents to prevent their children from using AI instructional tools.
DeSantis also pressured the legislature to pass a Medical Freedom Bill, but the House never took up the issue. State Senator Clay Yarborough (R-Jacksonville) filed SB 1756, which allowed pharmacists to sell the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin to patients without a prescription, and also sought to allow parents of a child to opt out of school vaccine requirements based on their personal beliefs.
The measure would expand vaccine waivers passed by the Legislature during the COVID pandemic at the governor’s request. DeSantis’s popularity soared nationally among conservatives when he opened schools and beaches as other states closed them, and when he feuded with the then-Biden White House over federal vaccine requirements.
But Yarborough’s bill faced strong opposition from both sides in the Senate. State Senator Gayle Harrell (R-Stuart), who has sat on or chaired various health-related committees for many years, criticized the measure in March, calling it a dangerous move that would overwhelm the state’s health care system.
The Senate considered the bill as the Florida Department of Health addressed a measles outbreak that began in January in eastern Collier County. The frequency of cases, which have been reported in counties across the state but were mostly in Collier, has slowed significantly, with 144 reports as of April 11, according to data from the state DOH database.
State Senator Jonathan Martin, a Fort Myers Republican, called the measures “important” and predicted the Senate would approve the bills during an upcoming special session because he voted for them earlier. He said DeSantis’ handling of health care issues during COVID-19 was a “big reason” he won his re-election in 2022 by a landslide.
But another longtime GOP activist in Florida, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly, said loosening vaccine mandates was an unpopular position among independents — who are turning out to vote for Democrats during off-cycle and special elections — and said the AI bill was out of step with the White House.
The moderator warned that the topics of the special session would have political implications not only for statewide and legislative candidates, but also for congressional campaigns, and said that it would have been “more helpful” to turn it toward economic issues.
“This is a real problem for Republicans,” the person said. “If the Democrats are smart, they just have to sit there and watch and not vote — make their point and get out of the way. When your opponent is in the middle of destroying himself, don’t get in the way. I feel like that’s what we’re doing right now.”
Asked about the effects on campaigning for members of the legislature, a county GOP chairman called it “difficult” and noted voters were “angry” about other issues not addressed in the special session, including the cost of housing, insurance, property taxes and homeowner’s fees. The Speaker said holding a special session on cutting property taxes would have been an easier sell.
“This distracts members from campaign activities and also keeps them away from their districts,” said the person, requesting anonymity to speak candidly.
DeSantis, a longtime GOP operative who warned the special session would be damaging, accused Republicans of eyeing a future presidential run and trying to position himself to “be the phoenix rising from the ashes of 2024” if Trump loses the midterms.
“Clearly the governor is doing exactly what he wants to do to wreak havoc,” the person said. “I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want Republicans to be successful. If Republicans are successful in 2026, it won’t help DeSantis in 2028.”
