Hours after Gov. Ron DeSantis said a bill that bans minors younger than 16 in Florida from social media wasn’t “there yet,” the Florida House passed it.
Its next stop: DeSantis’ desk, where it’s unclear what he’ll do with it. Under the state constitution, he has seven days to sign or veto it after he officially receives it, or it automatically becomes law.
“It is the rarest of bills that are so profound it can right the course of a generation. This is one such bill,” said Rep. Tyler Sirois, R-Merritt Island, a sponsor of the bill — a top priority of House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast.
“These companies know what they are doing is wrong. They have not acted. We will,” Sirois added, to lawmakers’ loud, lengthy applause.
It’s a notable split from a governor who has wielded enormous power over lawmakers in recent years. Lawmakers largely worked in lockstep with DeSantis to push through laws that helped elevate him before his presidential bid.
But he suspended his campaign for the White House after tanking in the polls and achieving a distant second place in the Iowa GOP caucuses to former President Donald Trump. It prompted speculation on how much sway he still has over his state allies.
Social media ban passed with support from both parties
That speculation is likely to heighten. The bill passed with broad bipartisan approval in a 108-7 vote on Thursday evening.
The Senate had passed the bill (HB 1) that morning by a 23-14 vote, with bipartisan support and opposition. Five Republicans voted against for the measure and two Democrats for it.
Most of the Democratic senators doubted the bill would survive legal scrutiny and took issue with the bill not having an exception for parental permission.
DeSantis appeared to agree, voicing his disapproval at a press conference earlier in the day.
“Parents need to have a role in this,” said the governor, who previously had said he had legal concerns with the bill. “I do think parents are concerned about social media and what goes on there, and I do think they think it’s a problem. But I also think that for people that are in high school, it’s not as simple.”
It would take two-thirds of both legislative chambers to override a veto. (It didn’t get that much support in the Thursday morning Senate vote, however.)