Policy
RIP: The high-profile bills that died in the 2023 Florida legislative session
Dead bills are the norm, not the exception: Roughly, only one out of 10 bills passed this year.
Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Republicans checked off policy accomplishments one after another this session – passing permitless carry, expanding the parental rights law and approving yet another measure targeting Disney – and set a trend for their party here while making national headlines.
But to borrow from a certain 1980s post-punk song, bills are like chickens, and “some of these chickens need to die.”
In fact, most bills filed every year never make it over the finish line. According to the Florida Senate’s website, lawmakers filed 1,651 general bills for the 2023 legislative session, of which 153 passed both chambers, or 9.3%. A general bill is defined as one “of general statewide interest or whose provisions apply to the entire state.”
That’s even with GOP supermajorities in both chambers and DeSantis returning to the Governor’s Mansion with a historic 19-point victory this past November.
With that, here’s a look at five noteworthy bills that died – call ‘em the “Deacon Blues” of this year’s legislative efforts:
The highest-profile bill DeSantis didn’t get across the finish line was one aimed at lowering the standard for defamation lawsuits under state law. He had been jockeying for the legislation amid his continued feud with the press. He publicly supported such legislation since a roundtable discussion he hosted in February.
But it wasn’t pressure from “traditional” media groups that killed the bill. Rather, it was met with resistance from right-wing media outlets, Christian organizations and business groups, who warned that the bill could also be used against them.
Related coverage – Conservatives tussle on Twitter over defamation bill
Still, the legislation likely won’t be gone forever. The bill’s sponsor and regular DeSantis policy champion, GOP state Rep. Alex Andrade, has said he will bring the bill back with changes for next year.
SB 1316 - Information Dissemination
This piece of legislation was the one that got the most national attention this session – but also was the quickest to get put on the chopping block (outside of anything proposed by Democrats). It never even got a House companion.
Sponsored by state Sen. Jason Brodeur, a Sanford Republican, the bill would have required online bloggers to register whether they are getting paid to write pieces about elected officials and by whom, with fines attached for noncompliance.
“Paid bloggers are lobbyists who write instead of talk,” he told City & State soon after filing the bill. “They both are professional electioneers. If lobbyists have to register and report, why shouldn’t paid bloggers?”
Related column – Bill Cotterell on Brodeur's blogger bill: Well intentioned, but unconstitutional
It soon drew criticism, however, from both sides of the political aisle. And although some critics of the bill initially tied it to him, even DeSantis denounced it: “...That’s not anything that I’ve ever supported. I don’t support it.” House Speaker Paul Renner also came out against it. And soon after, the blogger bill was getting “Taps” played for it.
HB 1543 - Minimum Age for Firearm Purchase
It was a great year for gun rights activists in Florida, including passage of permitless carry, but they didn’t get everything on their wishlist.
A bill lowering the buying age for rifles and other “long guns” from 21 to 18 died after passing the House. Republican Senate President Kathleen Passidomo opposed it and no one in her chamber would carry a companion bill. Further, the federal appellate court that covers Florida decided that requiring a buyer of long guns to be at least 21 is constitutional.
And Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, also the chairman of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission, opposed lowering the long gun-buying age.
From the ‘Deeper Dive’ Podcast – Episode 28: Commemorating the 2018 Mass Shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS with Sheriff Bob Gualtieri
“Of course, we had the situation with Nikolas Cruz (the 2018 Parkland school shooter), where he was young, and he went down and lawfully purchased the guns,” he said during a Senate committee meeting this session, according to WFSU News. “I support it at (age) 21.”
SB 714/HB 833 - Vacation Rentals
Yet another attempt to further regulate short term vacation rentals was shot down, this year on the last day of the session, as the chambers couldn’t agree on the language.
According to the Florida Phoenix, one big disagreement was over giving “the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) sole authority to suspend a vacation rental license, and not the local government.”
The Phoenix explained: “After the Legislature passed (a) 2011 law prohibiting local governments from enacting any restrictions on vacation rentals, pushback from city and county officials forced the Legislature in 2014 to allow local governments to handle problems like noise, trash, and parking, but still prevented them from regulating the duration or frequency of rentals.
“Nearly every year since then, legislators have attempted to pass new regulations, but have come up short every single time.”
SB 78/HB 17 - Designation of the State Bird
A bill that has been repeatedly filed over the last two decades died again this session. Filed this year by Democrat Tina Polsky in the Senate and Republican Sam Killebrew in the House, this legislation would have changed the official state bird from the mockingbird to the Florida scrub-jay. The bill was never heard in committee.
The Florida scrub-jay is “protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, as a threatened species by the federal Endangered Species Act, and as a federally designated threatened species by the Florida Endangered and Threatened Species Rule,” the bill explains. It’s also “the only bird species endemic to the State of Florida.”
That was OK by the National Rifle Association's retired Florida lobbyist Marion P. Hammer, who wrote an op-ed for City & State last year. The mockingbird has held the official state bird title since 1927.
Column by Marion Hammer – The mockingbird has been Florida’s state bird for 95 years – and it doesn’t need to change
“Mockingbirds are remarkable song birds known to sing up to 200 songs and they are known to almost everyone,” she wrote. “Plus, they live in and can be seen and heard in every county in Florida every day. On the other hand, scrub jays can’t even sing. They only have an irritating squawk.”
Contact Tristan Wood at twood@cityandstatefl.com and follow him on Twitter: @TristanDWood.
NEXT STORY: Judge recommends City of Miami toss out its Commission district map