Governor Ron DeSantis vetoes 3 bills

Press release from the Office of Governor Ron DeSantis

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Today, Governor Ron DeSantis vetoed the following bills:

CS/HB 1445 – Public Officers and Employees

“Florida’s board of governors (BOG) and university boards of trustees (BOT) are
constitutionally-created offices with constitutionally-prescribed eligibility criteria.
Specifically, pursuant to the Florida Constitution, the BOG consists of 17 members: 14
‘citizens dedicated to the purposes of the state university system,’ the commissioner of
education, the chair of the advisory council of faculty senates or the equivalent, and the
president of the Florida student association or the equivalent. Article IX of the Florida
Constitution states each BOT ‘consist[s] of six citizen members appointed by the governor
and five citizen members appointed by the board of governors,’ as well as the chair of the
faculty senate or the equivalent and the president of the student body of the university.

“The requirement in Article IX that certain members of the BOG and BOT must be
‘citizens’ has long been understood to mean members who do not hold public office, not
members who are citizens of Florida.

“CS/HB 1445 attempts to impose additional eligibility criteria by requiring members
of the BOG and BOT to be ‘either a resident of this state or a graduate of [a/the] state
university.’ However, the Florida Supreme Court has ‘consistently held that statutes
imposing additional qualifications for office are unconstitutional where the basic document
of the constitution itself has already undertaken to set forth those requirements.’ State ex rel.
Askew v. Thomas, 293 So. 2d 40, 42 (Fla. 1974).” – Governor Desantis

CS/CS/CS/HB 1095 – Criminal Offender Substance Abuse Pilot Program

“CS/CS/CS/HB 1095 creates a new pilot program in Hillsborough County for certain
offenders whose conditions of probation require an abstention from drugs and alcohol;
however, the program was not provided a specific appropriation within the General
Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2025-2026. While innovative solutions to address public
safety are welcome, without clear, committed resources, the program cannot be responsibly
implemented or evaluated.” – Governor DeSantis

CS/CS/HB 1133 – Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission  

“CS/CS/HB 1133 amends the governance and operations of the Florida Fish and
Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). While the bill’s intent is to prevent personnel
from entering hunting property without probable cause, the bill fails to achieve this.

“The legislature should instead enact legislation that clearly provides Floridians with
these protections as was done with the Boater Freedom Act (Chapter 2025-35, Laws of
Florida). A more comprehensive revision to Florida Statutes is necessary to effectively
protect the property rights of Floridians.” – Governor DeSantis

To view Veto letter HB 1445, click here.

To view Veto letter HB 1095, click here.

To view Veto letter HB 1133, click here.