Sprowls: Legislature Must Provide ‘Freedom’ for Floridians

This week, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) sued the Biden Administration over President Joe Biden’s (D) vaccine mandate regarding contractors and executive branch employees who work with the federal government to get vaccinated. As a result, the Florida Legislature is scheduled to meet in a Special Session to discuss vaccine mandates. House Speaker Chris Sprowls (R), in speaking at the Future of Florida Forum, did not directly address vaccine mandates, but he did note that the Legislature is entrusted with providing Floridians “the freedom” that’ll “make Floridians’ lives better.”

Last week, the Federal Reserve released its Beige Book, informing that “firms reported higher turnover, as workers left for other jobs or retired,” noting that “child-care issues and vaccine mandates were widely cited as contributing to the problem, along with COVID-related absences.”

Florida GOP members have expressed disappointment at mandates, arguing it’s infringing on Americans’ freedoms. Governor DeSantis and Florida Senators Rick Scott (R) and Marco Rubio (R) have all vocally opposed mandates. Considering that the House will be meeting for a Special Session to discuss the future of vaccine mandates in the state, Sprowls rallied support for the House to focus on providing “freedom” for Floridians.

“In the weeks, months and years to come we are going to need every one of you to go and do what you do, to innovate, to make Floridians’ lives better, whether that’s in the energy sector, whether it’s in the education sector, in the healthcare business,” Sprowls told crowd while speaking at the Future Forum. He added that “what our job to do in the Legislature is to allow you the freedom to do that.”

Earlier this week, Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson (R) added that by the end of the week details would be released regarding what the Session would entail.

In reference to conversations with House Speaker Sprowls, Simpsons said that they had spoken briefly about the Special Session, adding that “we are waiting to figure out what it is exactly, how we would lay these issues out that the Governor has identified. And so we are still in the beginning stages of getting that together.”