The Florida Legislature will convene a special session Monday at the behest of Governor Ron DeSantis, despite objections from legislative leaders. Senate President Ben Albritton and House Speaker Daniel Perez announced the session in a joint memo on Friday but offered no details on how lawmakers would address the Governor’s agenda.
DeSantis called for the special session to tackle a range of issues, including immigration policy, changes to the ballot initiative process, hurricane relief, and condominium association regulations. However, Albritton and Perez previously expressed their reservations, calling the special session “premature” in a January 13th memo.
The memo highlighted the constitutional obligation of the Legislature to convene when called by the Governor but also emphasized that “the Legislature, not the governor, will decide when and what legislation we consider.”
This statement underscores the tension between the executive and legislative branches regarding the necessity and timing of the special session.
While the Legislature is obligated to convene, it remains unclear how receptive they will be to the Governor’s proposals, especially with the regular legislative session scheduled to begin on March 4th. As of Friday morning, no bills had been filed for the special session, further underscoring the uncertainty surrounding the session’s outcome.
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