Representative Bob Rommel Legislative Wrap Up
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In 1923, the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate could not physically see each from their respective chambers. In spite of this, they pledged to each other that they would adjourn the Legislative Session simultaneously. The question then became “how to accomplish this?” They devised a plan whereby the Sergeant-at-Arms from both chambers would watch their respective bosses as they gaveled the adjournment. At that time, the two Sergeants-at-Arms dropped white hankies – signifying the end of Session, or “sine die.”
Even though both Chambers are now across from each other, and with the doors open, the Speaker of House and the President of the Senate theoretically can see each other, the tradition of dropping white hankies remains to this day.
2023 Legislative Session
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The Governor and the Legislature supported families by passing $2.7 billion in historic tax cuts for Floridians, first through the Toll Relief Program which began on January 1, 2023, and now through family-focused tax relief to lower costs. This includes permanent tax exemptions for diapers, wipes, children’s clothing, cribs, and strollers.
Florida had the highest net in-migration in the country in 2022. The Governor joined Senate President Kathleen Passiodmo in championing and signing record-setting housing investments into law to help workers in Florida live in the communities where they work. The Governor also succeeded in securing $4 billion in funding to expedite major interstate and roadway projects over the next four years, easing the daily commute for Floridians.
The Governor has prioritized investments in the environment and renewed that commitment through his Executive Order, Achieving Even More Now for Florida’s Environment. This Legislative Session, the Governor secured more than $1 billion for Everglades restoration and water resource protection.
The Governor joined House speaker Paul Renner to sign legislation establishing universal school choice in Florida, with the Legislature building upon the Governor’s previous school choice initiatives to secure Florida’s position as the education state. The Governor also delivered on more than $1 billion for teacher salary increases and legislation to end shady union practices and protect teacher pay. Additionally, the Governor secured a record $8,648 per student funding, an increase of $405 over last year, while also protecting parents’ rights in education. The Legislature also supported the Governor’s higher education agenda to refocus higher education on preparing students to be contributing members of society and make merit rather than ideology the metrics that students and faculty are judged by.
Florida has protected children by passing legislation to ban mutilating procedures and puberty blockers for all children under the age of 18. Additionally, Florida has now joined many other states across the country in advancing the pro-life movement by passing the Heartbeat Protection Act. Furthermore, this Legislative Session the protections enacted by Governor DeSantis against pandemic-era government overreach seen in other parts of the country have been made permanent.
The Governor built on his law-and-order agenda with his third consecutive anti-crime, pro-public safety legislative package which takes aim at so-called “bail reform” by strengthening Florida’s pre-trial release, increasing penalties for drug dealers who target children, and subjecting child rapists to the death penalty. Florida has enjoyed a 50-year low crime rate, and the Governor’s law-and-order legislative agenda is a blueprint for high-crime areas in other parts of the country.
The Governor promised to sign legislation that would allow Floridians to protect themselves without a permission slip from the government and he delivered, making Florida the 26th state to enact constitutional carry.
Biden’s Border Crisis was tackled head on this Session, with the Legislature making Florida the largest state in the country to require employers with more than 25 employees to verify the immigration status of their employees through E-Verify and increasing penalties for human smuggling. The Governor has also secured additional funds to transport more illegal aliens to so-called sanctuary jurisdictions.
The Legislature stepped up to the plate to take on the corporatist, globalist ESG movement and prohibited the financial sector from considering so-called “Social Credit Scores” in banking and lending practices that aim to prevent Floridians from obtaining loans, lines of credit, and bank accounts based on their political beliefs. The Governor and Legislature also pushed back against central bank digital currencies (CBDC), telling the federal administration that such government intrusion into Floridians’ financial freedom is unacceptable and will not be allowed.
The Legislature addressed the threat of foreign influence this Session, with the Legislature building upon the Governor’s previous legislative victories to counteract Chinese corporate espionage and ideological influence in higher education by passing the strongest legislation in the nation to date to prevent CCP-affiliated persons or entities from buying farmland or land near military bases and critical infrastructure facilities in Florida and prohibiting CCP-affiliated persons or entities from ideologically influencing primary and secondary education institutions.
These are just some of the historic accomplishments achieved during this Legislative Session, so stay tuned. Click HERE to view the Governor’s closing on Friday.
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ESG refers to the application of Environmental, Social, and Governance standards used to screen investment, or other financial decisions, in order to encourage ethical and responsible corporate conduct. Many mutual funds, brokerage firms now offer investment products that employ ESG principles.
The Governor however has been critical of ESG calling it “a worldwide effort to inject woke political ideology across the financial sector, placing politics above the fiduciary duty to make the best financial decisions for beneficiaries.”
“Through this legislation, Florida will continue to lead the nation against big banks and corporate activists who’ve colluded to inject woke ideology into the global marketplace, regardless of the financial interests of beneficiaries,” said Governor DeSantis. “In Florida and across the nation, we’ve heard from law-abiding small business owners and consumers who’ve been denied access to financial services because of where they work or what they believe in.”
• Codifies actions taken by the State Board of Administration at Governor DeSantis’ direction to ensure that all investment decisions are driven solely by pecuniary factors and may not sacrifice investment returns to promote factors like ESG and extending these requirements to all state and local funds
• Prohibits the use of ESG factors by state and local governments when issuing bonds, including a contract prohibition on rating agencies whose ESG ratings negatively impact the issuer’s bond ratings
• Prohibits all state and local entities from considering or giving preference to ESG as part of the procurement and contracting process
• Prohibits banks that engage in ESG corporate activism from holding public deposits as a Qualified Public Depository (QPD)
• Prohibits financial institutions from discriminating against customers for their religious, political, or social beliefs — including their support for securing the border, owning a firearm, and increasing our energy independence
• Prohibits the financial sector from considering so-called “Social Credit Scores” in banking and lending practices that aim to prevent Floridians from obtaining loans, lines of credit, and bank accounts
• Directs the Attorney General, Chief Financial Officer, and Commissioner of Financial Regulation to enforce these provisions to the fullest extent of the law.
The new law codifies previous steps taken by the Governor and the State Board of Administration (SBA) to remove any ESG considerations from state investment decisions and ensuring that all investment decisions focus solely on maximizing the highest rate of return.
The full text of the resolution stipulating that state investment managers may not sacrifice investment return or take on additional investment risk to promote any non-pecuniary factors can be found here.
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Let’s keep it that way!
