Ahead of this week’s special session, DeSantis, state Attorney General James Uthmeier and several groups blitzed the House with ads and social media posts attempting to push Perez’s chamber into considering the AI bill of rights. Some organizations supporting the AI legislation, such as The Alliance for Secure AI and Humans First, were setting up for a press conference outside of the Capitol when Perez abruptly tanked the proposal Tuesday morning.
By Andrew Atterbury & Arek Sarkissian
Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez slammed the door shut on two of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ top priorities Tuesday by declaring bills on vaccine exemptions and regulating artificial intelligence dead on arrival in his chamber.
The revelation came mere minutes into a special session called by DeSantis to tackle these proposals and congressional redistricting, likely ending any speculation over whether the reluctant House would consider legislation backed by the state Senate and GOP governor. Now, the session is essentially over before it even got started for two major issues that could have further cemented DeSantis’ legacy during his final year in office.
“I think both of these issues, we were very clear on our position during session,” Perez, a Miami Republican, told reporters Tuesday. “And neither of these bills moved through the House and the committee process during the session.”
The state House’s inaction, as the Senate was prepared to act on the legislation later Tuesday, was quickly rebuked by DeSantis, who labeled it as “typical political shenanigans.”
“Will be interesting to see these guys campaign as Big Tech enthusiasts and guardians of the medical industrial complex,” DeSantis said on social media.
Perez’s move represents a major reproach from a member of DeSantis’ own party and would have been almost unthinkable several years ago, when the GOP governor was at the apex of his popularity and power and state Republicans were generally in lock-step with him.
But since his failed presidential bid, DeSantis has seen his clout and influence wane, especially in the final years of his terms.
Perez’s decision to ignore AI regulations is not a surprise, given his past support of President Donald Trump’s push for a national framework regulating the technology, as opposed to a patchwork of state laws. To that end, Perez reiterated his stance Tuesday, again siding with Trump in declining to even hear the so-called AI bill of rights DeSantis has lobbied heavily in favor of for months.
The speaker noted one reason the bills would not be brought up was that they were never heard by a House committee during this year’s regular legislative session, which ended in March. The proposed expansion of religious exemptions parents can use to opt children out of school vaccine requirements would also preserve the governor’s Covid legacy, as he made the state the first in the U.S to reopen schools during the pandemic.
Perez also shared his concerns about the vaccines bill, SB 1756, which had been passed by the Senate and sent over to the House during the regular session. At the time, he would only say the House companion failed to be considered by its first committee. On Tuesday he joined the ranks of Senate Republicans who had voted against the bill amid concerns it would lead to children coming to school without being protected against viruses such as measles, polio and chickenpox.
“That is something I was uncomfortable with,” Perez said. “But I’ve stated that fairly clearly over the past several months.”
The bill would also allow pharmacists to sell anti-parasitic medication Ivermectin without a prescription. The medicine became a point of controversy during the pandemic over its use to treat Covid. There’s also a provision that would make permanent the state’s definition of mRNA vaccines, which DeSantis brought up during a news conference last week when he asked if the House “gave a damn” about constituents.
The comprehensive AI legislation proposed by DeSantis and passed by the Senate would require chatbot platforms to share information with parents, including all interactions their children have with AI. Under the legislation, parents would be able to limit the amount of time their children use chatbots and get notifications if children share any thoughts about harming themselves or others.
Although the AI regulations have bipartisan support and are polling positively, Perez is sticking by the White House, even as pressure is mounting on state lawmakers to act. Perez expressed faith in Congress passing wide-ranging AI legislation, and that it would “happen soon.”
“I understand the governor’s concern of wanting to protect children. We want to protect children, too. He is not wrong for wanting that. I agree with him, with that sentiment,” Perez said Tuesday.
“But we have seen very clearly, the president of the United States issued an executive order stating that the federal government should take handle of the AI policies of this country, that this is a national security concern, that this is bigger than just one state or one part of the country.”
Ahead of this week’s special session, DeSantis, state Attorney General James Uthmeier and several groups blitzed the House with ads and social media posts attempting to push Perez’s chamber into considering the AI bill of rights. Some organizations supporting the AI legislation, such as The Alliance for Secure AI and Humans First, were setting up for a press conference outside of the Capitol when Perez abruptly tanked the proposal Tuesday morning.
DeSantis, for his part, once again urged the House to consider the legislation, saying parents and kids deserve “common-sense” protections from AI.
“Now is the time for choosing,” DeSantis said on social media Tuesday morning. “Florida legislators have the chance to protect children and families against Big Tech corporations that are experimenting on kids and teenagers with dangerous AI technologies.”
Despite the House putting the kibosh on the AI bill of rights, the state Senate forged ahead with passing the legislation Tuesday afternoon by a 37-1 vote.
The lone senator to oppose the bill, state Sen. Erin Grall (R-Vero Beach), contended the chamber was putting on a “show” by taking it up after the House already declared the policy dead.
“The House isn’t taking it,” Grall said. “They’re done because they know that this isn’t the right answer. We need to have more meaningful discussion about how to really hold tech accountable, and we can’t act like we can do it through mere regulation because we are not good enough at it.”