A defiant Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis opens legislative session touting Florida as 'free'

TALLAHASSEE – A defiant Gov. Ron DeSantis opened the 2022 Legislature Tuesday by blistering President Biden's administration over its COVID-19 policies while endorsing his own approach that he said emphasized freedom for Floridians.

DeSantis used the word ‘free’ and its variations 12 times in his 35-minute State of the State speech to a joint session of the House and Senate. He also condemned federal pandemic policies for being “as ineffective as they have been destructive.”

By contrast, the governor touted his opposition to vaccine and mask mandates, and to virtually any kind of restrictions to a pandemic now surging into its third year.

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“Florida is a free state,” DeSantis told lawmakers. “We reject the biomedical security state that curtails liberty, ruins livelihoods and divides society. And we will protect the rights of individuals to live their lives free from the yoke of restrictions and mandates.”

A State of the State speech is usually a combination of highlight film – a look back at the accomplishments of the governor – and a wish list of what the leader wants from the Legislature.

For DeSantis, that meant touting a Florida economy that in some measures is outperforming the national model, particularly in unemployment and job growth. But like the nation, Florida still has not returned to the job numbers that existed pre-pandemic.

DeSantis tells lawmakers, public that 'freedom works' in speech

“Freedom works,” the governor said. “Our economy is the envy of the nation. And the state is well-prepared to withstand future economic turmoil.”

DeSantis also credited the state’s success to his guidance through COVID-19 – even though Florida is now averaging almost 60,000 cases a day, hospitals are crowded, worker shortages are emerging in some sectors and universities have few places for students with the virus to isolate.

The governor’s only mention of state attempts to blunt the course of the virus was when he credited his administration’s efforts to expand monoclonal antibody treatment. Democrats anticipated the DeSantis narrative.

“His prevailing narrative in this election year is that there is no pandemic. What pandemic? And legislative leadership seems to be following that call,” Rep. Fentrice Driskell, D-Tampa, said Monday, before the session opened.

GOP leaders in the Legislature, though, have formed a powerful bond with the governor. And it is likely that many of his legislative priorities will come true by the scheduled finish of the legislative session on March 11.

Outnumbered Democrats, though, say the governor’s approach is out-of-step with the concerns of many Floridians.

Rep. Ramon Alexander, D-Tallahassee, also singled out the governor’s intent this session to push a number of conservative hot buttons instead of what he called addressing the needs of Floridians struggling to meet rising housing costs, child care and workplace changes caused by the virus.

A priority of the governor is seeking further restrictions on critical race theory in schools and private employers that appear aimed at stamping out “woke” discussion of racial inequities.

“It is a distraction from reality,” said Alexander, slated to be the chamber's Democratic leader in the 2023 and 2024 session. “We see this common theme of utilizing culture wars to distract from real issues that are impacting people every single day.”

DeSantis, in his State of the State address, also took plenty of jabs at President Biden, now a standard part of his repertoire as he not only looks to run for re-election this year, but also courts supporters who see him as a possible White House contender in 2024.

White House COVID-19 adviser Anthony Fauci was singled out for attack when the governor scoffed at federal pandemic efforts.

“These unprecedented policies have been as ineffective as they have been destructive,” DeSantis said. “They are grounded more in blind adherence to Faucian declarations than they are in the constitutional traditions that are the foundation of free nations.”

State treasury awash in cash for 2022-23 budget

Although more than 3,400 bills and appropriations projects have been filed this session, only one measure must be approved – and that’s a state budget for 2022-23.

This year, the state treasury is awash in cash – fueled by that rebounding economy and supplemented by $3.4 billion of federal relief money – which Biden steered through Congress over opposition from every Republican member of the U.S. House and Senate.

The bounty of money is allowing DeSantis to recommend pay raises and bonuses across politically active public employee sectors.

In his $99.7 billion budget proposal, DeSantis has called for $1,000 bonuses for teachers, first responders and law enforcement. DeSantis also is seeking $600 million for the third year of an effort to increase starting pay for all Florida teachers to $47.500 – a level among the highest in the nation, but which still hasn’t helped blunt a 5,000-person teacher shortage this year in schools.

DeSantis is recommending state worker pay raises – an amount expected to represent an average 4% hike for most employees and a 1% boost for senior management workers.

Another $1 billion of federal cash would go toward another DeSantis item he wants lawmakers to approve this session: A 25-cents-a-gallon cut in the state’s gas tax, effective in July and spanning the next five months, including November and Election Day.

“This is money that is coming down from a Democratic Congress and a Biden administration – this money would not be there, so it’s important to recognize where this money is coming from,” said Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, Florida’s lone statewide elected Democrat and among three prominent challengers to DeSantis.

U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, a St. Petersburg Democrat and former Republican governor, and Sen. Annette Taddeo, D-Miami, also are running for their party’s nomination to face DeSantis in the fall.

The governor is recommending millions of dollars for Everglades restoration, environmental programs and more than a half-a-billion dollars for cities and counties wrestling with infrastructure problems caused by rising sea levels and powerful storms stemming from climate change.

DeSantis is proposing boosting per-pupil spending next year by more than $200, bringing the average spent on each of Florida’s 2.7 million school kids to $8,000. He also holds the line by recommending no college or university tuition increases.

DeSantis touched on many points that have become part of many speeches by the governor. He was critical of “hysterical media,” “Big Tech companies that have used their platforms to elevate preferred narratives,” and defended law enforcement against defunding efforts.

The governor is looking for lawmakers to approve a $5,000 bonus pay idea for new law enforcement officers and for those looking to move to Florida from other states.

DeSantis is asking the Legislature to OK $73 million to raise minimum salary for entry-level state law enforcement by 20% and to give existing state law enforcement officers a 25% raise.

“Serving in law enforcement is a noble calling and we will not allow our officers to be smeared by reckless politicians and corporate media,” he said.

John Kennedy is a reporter in the USA TODAY Network’s Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jkennedy2@gannett.com, or on Twitter at @JKennedyReport

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: State of the State: DeSantis declares Florida 'free,' attacks Biden policies