DeSantis delays Florida’s redistricting session — and tacks on AI, vaccines

The decision to push back the start of the redistricting special session now sets it after Virginia’s referendum that could net Democrats four seats in that state. DeSantis on Tuesday discussed the possibility of changing the session dates but maintained Florida’s efforts were not connected to what was happening in Virginia.

But the governor’s actions also now add two contentious and politically fraught items for the Legislature’s to-do list at the same time. DeSantis had pushed for an AI Bill of Rights only to see it get rebuffed by the state House, whose leaders said they were aligned with President Donald Trump on leaving regulation to the federal government.

DeSantis also wanted lawmakers to pass a bill that would expand the types of exemptions parents could use to opt their children out of school vaccines - which also went nowhere in the state House.

It’s not clear if House Republicans — who have feuded for more than a year with the governor — will go along with the added items being sought by DeSantis. One GOP state legislator, granted anonymity to speak candidly, texted: “LOL at no mention of property tax reform.” DeSantis has promised for months that he will come up with a property tax proposal that he wants on the November 2026 ballot.

State House Speaker Daniel Perez said in a brief statement that “we look forward to seeing the governor’s proposed map. The other issues mentioned in the proclamation will be evaluated once we have seen the draft legislation.”

It appears that DeSantis will continue to have a more amenable partner in Tallahassee’s other legislative chamber. State Senate President Ben Albritton sent out a memo on Thursday evening outlining which senators would be filing the bills that will be considered during the special session and touting the need for a “medical freedom” bill and consumer protections for AI.

Albritton also said the DeSantis administration would be responsible for submitting a proposed congressional map for the Senate to consider. He added that it was “my expectation” that the governor’s office would be responsible for presenting and explaining the map to senators in a committee meeting. DeSantis had previously sidestepped questions about whether his office would prepare a map for consideration.

Democrats are firmly opposed to redistricting and earlier in the day called it “illegal” because Florida’s constitution prohibits drawing new districts for partisan gain or to help or harm incumbents.

“Pushing it back one week doesn’t change the fact that there is no reason for us to be doing a mid-decade restricting congressional map,” said state Senate Minority Leader Lori Berman after news of the session delay was released. “The same concerns we raised — having to do with the fact that there is no new census numbers and that the only reason appears to be to get more Republican seats — are still in play. This is a violation of the Fair Districts Amendment and is unconstitutional.”

Albritton, in his memo, did warn lawmakers once again about the constitutional restraints on redistricting.

“Florida’s Constitution includes strict guidelines for what information the Legislature can and cannot consider when drawing new congressional districts,” he wrote. “Regardless of the forum or format, we can only consider thoughts and feedback in keeping with constitutional standards. Senators
should take care to insulate themselves from partisan-funded organizations and other interests that may intentionally or unintentionally attempt to inappropriately influence redistricting.”

State Sen. Joe Gruters, who is also chair of the Republican National Committee, has already said he will not attend the special session on redistricting to avoid any potential conflicts.

Back in 2022, DeSantis vetoed a congressional map proposed that year by the GOP-controlled Legislature and muscled through the current version that led to Republicans gaining a 20-8 margin in the Sunshine State. DeSantis first started calling for a special session last summer, predicating the move on a looming ruling out of the U.S. Supreme Court that could bar states from considering the racial makeup of voting populations when drawing up districts. But the high court has yet to rule on that case.

Some GOP consultants early on talked about picking up anywhere from three to five Sunshine State seats, but that enthusiasm has cooled as the political environment has proved more challenging for Republicans. But one well-known Republican consultant from Florida this past weekend released his own analysis that contended a redrawn map could increase the number of competitive seats in the state and would result in no net gain for the GOP.

DeSantis, who is term-limited and will leave office next January, said after the conclusion of this year’s regular legislation session that he was prepared to keep pushing some of his top priorities such as the AI Bill of Rights and the vaccine exemption bill.

Berman said she was glad that the governor added AI to the agenda, as she’s concerned about several impacts the technology will have to Floridians, including in schools.

“We failed to get ahead of it with social media,” she said, “and I think if we wait another year we’ll be even further behind with artificial intelligence, and some of the things we talked about correcting in the bill will have already come into play.”

House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell, meanwhile, blasted the governor for bringing back the vaccine legislation. She said legislators should be working on a new state budget — which they failed to pass during the session that ended in March — or other items to deal with the state’s affordability crisis.

“Governor DeSantis’s decision to delay Florida’s special session to April 28 and inject his anti-vaccine agenda under the guise of ‘medical freedom’ is a disservice to every Florida family struggling to make ends meet,” Driskell said.