DeSantis visits veteran-owned brewery in Fort Walton Beach to sign 6 military-related bills

FORT WALTON BEACH — Though he chose to make a Thursday appearance at Props Craft Brewery and Taproom, Gov. Ron DeSantis' visit to Okaloosa County had, for better or worse, nothing to do with beer.

The Props franchise though, was founded in 2011 by three active-duty members of the military, and two of them — Mike Kee and Nate Vannatter — were on hand to see the governor sign six military-related bills into law.

The majority of the bills will either expand educational opportunities for active-duty military members or veterans, or help members or veterans advance into career fields.

“I enlisted in the Air Force when I was 18 years old. I used the GI Bill and an ROTC scholarship to get a commission,” Vannatter said in a news release issued after the event. “Ten years after that commission, my partners and I used a VA/SBA loan to start our business right here in Fort Walton Beach. I thank the governor for his support of these veteran bills. As these men and women depart the armed forces and go into the next phase of their life, these bills are really going to mean something.”

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After what has become a familiar stump speech for a governor who has visited Okaloosa County at least four times this calendar year, DeSantis elicited cheers by deriding federal policies of Democratic President Joe Biden, criticizing big tech and the news media and speaking of his own achievements. Those who followed him to the dais to speak heaped praise upon the popular Republican state leader.

“Gov. DeSantis continues to deliver on his promise to provide a work-ready, high-quality post-secondary education for our veterans and service-members,” said Senior Chancellor Henry Mack with the Florida Department of Education. “Today’s new laws guarantee our state and technical colleges stand ready and equipped to remove all educational barriers for our military families.”

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The first signing announced by the governor, House Bill 45, will expand educational opportunities for disabled veterans by offering tuition assistance to supplement federal educational assistance. It will allow those veterans to receive a waiver for tuition and fees at specified educational institutions.

Senate Bill 430 is written to create an interstate compact to provide education opportunities for military children. It is designed to allow children of military families to "assimilate seamlessly" into new communities, DeSantis said.

"We don't want someone transferring from another state getting mired in bureaucracy," DeSantis told the 150 or so supporters present at the signing event.

By signing Senate Bill 514, the governor provided employers at state agencies an opportunity, in certain circumstances, to substitute military experience for what the bill language calls "post-secondary educational requirements."

DeSantis said the bill will give military members and veterans job opportunities "even if they don't have some magic piece of paper."

Along somewhat similar lines, Senate Bill 896, signed in to law Thursday, provides untraditional pathways to educator certification to service members if they meet a particular criteria. It will allow "military service to count towards a teacher's certificate," DeSantis said.

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Senate Bill 562, also now law, will, according to the bill language, require the state's Department of Business and Professional Regulation to expedite professional license applications submitted by the spouses of active duty members of the Armed Forces. It will also require the Florida Department of Health to issue professional licenses to military spouses under certain circumstances.

The last bill DeSantis signed Thursday was Senate Bill 438, which updates Florida Statutes to include the United States Space Force as a "uniformed service."

DeSantis said he expects to see a significant expansion of the the state role of the Space Force, which was created under President Donald Trump.

“Florida is the most military friendly state in the nation, and I am proud to continue that commitment to our military members and their families by signing these pieces of legislation,” DeSantis said in the news release. “Providing military families with the resources they need to receive a high-quality education and find good jobs is the best way that we as a state can show our appreciation for the sacrifices that they make.”

Though he signed no legislation on the measure Thursday, DeSantis did speak in Fort Walton Beach of creating a Florida State Guard. The state guard, he said, would "not be impacted by misguided federal mandates."

He said the Florida agency could take in military men and women run out of the service by vaccine mandates.

"These mandates are a huge mistake and the zeal with which the military has pursued this has been a real head scratcher to me," he said. "If they're going to kick someone out of the military and those people want to return to service, the state of Florida will be able to help them do that."

He said Florida has one of the lowest ratios of civilians to those serving in the National Guard in the nation, and with the number of emergencies seen in Florida, a Florida State Guard might prove a way to expand the force in times of need by attracting displaced military members from other states.

This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Gov. DeSantis signs six military-related bills at Fort Walton brewery