Legislative Pushback: Florida Lawmakers Appear to Challenge DeSantis Over Social Media Bill

It appears as if Republican lawmakers in Tallahassee are pushing back (expected) against Governor Ron DeSantis over the controversial social media ban bill.

Gov. DeSantis said this week that the measure was not ready because it has "legitimate issues," but that didn't keep lawmakers from voting on the bill and sending it to the governor's desk to be signed.

On several occasions, Gov. DeSantis expressed his concerns over the bill, but that didn't matter to Speaker Paul Renner.

"HB1 protects children & strengthens parental rights. After weeks of hard work addressing constitutional, privacy, & parental rights concerns, we’ve made HB1 the strongest legislation in the nation to protect children from addictive social media features," stated Speaker Renner.

But does the bill strengthen "parental rights?"

There have been some significant amendments to the bill to make it more palatable or to address the constitutionality concerns.

DeSantis has pushed parental rights, but the state legislature still feels this legislative measure is ready for prime time.

"And so we cannot say 100% of the uses are bad because it is not, and I am a critic of social media, but I have to look at this from a parent's perspective. So we are working through those, [but] I do not think it is there yet. Hopefully, we will be able to get there in a way that, I think, answers the concerns that a lot of folks have because I do think parents are concerned about social media and what goes on there. And I do think that they think it is a problem but I also think that for people that are in high school, it is not as simple. I think you have got to have some parental involvement," DeSantis said during a press conference on Thursday.

Well, this prime-time measure could very well meet DeSantis's veto pen.

One Republican staffer working within the process told The Floridian, "He (DeSantis) can always veto it.

Wow!

Has the line in the sand just been drawn?

In 2023, several dozen lawmakers and lobbyists who spoke on the condition of anonymity with The Floridian said that if DeSantis lost his 2024 Republican presidential bid and came back to Florida, he could be met with resistance from so-called friendly lawmakers.

Why?

Lawmakers said they were fed up with being told by the Governor and his office of what to do and say, not to mention what bills to run during the past couple of legislative sessions.

After DeSantis was lost in Iowa and subsequently quit the race against former President Donald Trump, it looks as if lawmakers smell blood in the water, or see him as being a lame-duck governor, and are showing a bit of defiance.

All eyes will be on DeSantis veto Sharpie pen.