Raw Story: GOP leaders rebel against DeSantis as special session opens in Florida
Raw Story - GOP leaders rebel against DeSantis as special session opens in Florida
Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix
January 27, 2025 12:19PM ET
The Florida Legislature is meeting in special session this week — but only on the issue of illegal immigration. In doing so, legislative leaders are openly defying Gov. Ron DeSantis’ attempts to bend lawmakers to his will – and his ability to control the discussion.
For weeks, DeSantis has been pushing for the Legislature to convene ahead of its regular session date of March 4 to deal with issues he insists could not wait — specifically, a crackdown on illegal immigration and making it more difficult to place citizen-led constitutional amendments on the ballot. He also wanted them to provide hurricane relief and deal with condominium safety.
House Speaker Daniel Perez addressed his members at 10:30 a.m. to say that he believes special sessions “should be used sparingly.”
“They should not be stunts designed to generate headlines. I dislike special sessions because they inhibit the very thing the legislative process should encourage: the push and pull of meaningful conversations that lead to the development of good and better ideas. Special sessions should be reserved for those issues that truly cannot be addressed in the normal course of the legislative process,” he said.
The issues DeSantis raised in his proclamation for the special session “simply do not meet that threshold,” Perez added.
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