Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) signed into law 3 of his legacy bills last weekend, which Democrats have pushed back against. While DeSantis has touted the bills as a step forward in the right direction, Democrats like Florida Rep. Anna V. Eskamani (D) are denouncing them. Calling them “some of the worst bills,” Eskamani vows to fight back against the bills.
Taking to social media, Eskamani highlighted that DeSantis had signed a slew of bills that will be detrimental to Florida. This includes HB 1417, which “totally eliminates tenant protections put into place by local governments and preempts all of it to the State of Florida,”; HB 1191, which “opens up the door for phosphogypsum to be used in our roads (this bill was dubbed by some as Radioactive Roads)”; and SB 170, which is “the preemption of all preemptions and will make it very difficult for local governments to pass ordinances, even if it’s in the best interest of residents or the environment.”
In response to the Governor signing these bills, Eskamani commented that it was no surprise that he "would sign some of the worst bills into law right before a holiday weekend."
Here is our statement in response: pic.twitter.com/zqul84rK2z
— Rep. Anna V. Eskamani 🔨 (@AnnaForFlorida) June 30, 2023
"From stripping away local control and renters protections, to paving the way for radioactive roads - these are policies that will endanger Floridians and make it harder for local governments to solve everyday problems," she added.
However, she went on to vow that Democrats in Florida are determined to push back against the Governor, saying that "despite these awful policies, we will keep fighting for a more prosperous Florida where every person has the freedom to be healthy, safe and prosperous."
Eskamani has appeared to float the idea of running for Governor of Florida, and in the 2022 midterm election, political pundits questioned if she would be throwing her name in the ring before Charlie Crist (D) became the gubernatorial nominee.
Eskamani ultimately endorsed and campaigned on behalf of Crist, who lost the race by a significant amount of votes.
