Social media bill could spark showdown between Legislature, DeSantis

TALLAHASSEE – In a rare fit of independence, the Florida Legislature defied Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday by approving HB 1, the controversial social media ban for children under 16, almost immediately after he said it still needed work to allay his concerns.

The vote could set the stage for the first test of his strength after dropping out of the Republican presidential primary in January as he spends the next few weeks deciding whether to sign it or not. He has 10 days to sign a bill after it’s sent to his desk.

He declined to say Friday whether he will sign the bill, a major priority of political ally House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, saying he hasn’t reviewed the changes and his office will be processing it over the weekend.

Social media is a “net negative” for children, DeSantis said at an event in Pensacola, but he also thinks parents should be able to supervise their children who are using social media for positive reasons.

“You have to strike that proper balance when you are looking at these things between policy that is helping parents get to where they want to go, versus policy that may be just outright overruling parents,” DeSantis said. “We’ll be wrestling with that.”

Until now, DeSantis has enjoyed an unprecedented level of cooperation from the Legislature, which hasn’t challenged him or tried to override his vetoes of pet projects of the legislative leadership for fear of retaliation.  He threatened to use his popularity among conservatives and his massive campaign chest to run primary opponents against people he deemed weren’t sufficiently supportive of him or his policies.

In one instance, DeSantis stood on stage and laughed as he announced his veto of pet projects by then-Senate President Wilton Simpson and then-House Speaker Chris Sprowls, who stood beside him.

But there are “some signs the governor doesn’t have such a hold on the Legislature this session to the degree he had over the past few years,” said Aubrey Jewett, a political science professor at the University of Central Florida. “This is one sign. They passed a bill he suggested needs more work.”

He could still veto the bill, but there were more than enough votes in the House for the bill to achieve the two-thirds required to override a veto. The Senate is a couple of votes short of having the required two-thirds majority.

Overall, Jewett said, the Legislature appears to be more independent and pushing the priorities of the leadership and committee chairs.

Contributing to DeSantis’ power is diminished by three factors, Jewett said. The presidential campaign is over, there is not much money left in the bank to primary lawmakers, and he’s a lame duck because of state term limits.

He also didn’t hand the Legislature a big list of priorities in his budget recommendations or his State of the State speech in early January, which Jewett said seemed written for Iowa primary voters and not for Floridians.

“But he’s still the governor of Florida,” Jewett said, and that carries some sway, Jewett said. “And there are enough conservatives in both chambers who are in agreement with most of the governor’s positions anyway.”