FL. Governor and legislature could come to blows over bill banning social media accounts for kids

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A potential showdown between Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida House Speaker appears to be brewing in the State Capitol.

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The two Republican leaders are at odds over a bill that would ban children under the age of 16 from having social media accounts.

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The Governor has suggested the bill might be unconstitutional.

That would be a problem for the House Speaker, considering the bill is his top priority this year.

The bill was sent to the Governor’s desk this past Friday, and this Friday is the last day he has to act on it.

That mean if he vetoes it, the legislature will still be in session and will have an opportunity to override him.

As recently as Friday, Governor Ron DeSantis continued to voice concerns over the legislation.

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In particular, he’s questioned the lack of a parental consent option in the bill.

“I think you gotta strike that proper balance when you’re looking at these things between policy that is helping parents get to where they want to go, versus policy that may be just outright overruling parents,” said DeSantis.

Last Thursday, House Speaker Paul Renner (R-Palm Coast) indicated he didn’t know whether the Governor was leaning towards a veto.

“I don’t know. I don’t know what the Governor is thinking,” said Renner.

UNF Political Science Professor Dr. Michael Binder noted, the fact the legislature ignored the Governor’s parental consent concerns, could suggest the days of DeSantis getting everything he wants may be coming to an end after his failed bid for the Presidency.

RELATED: Florida lawmakers pass ban on social media for kids under 16 despite constitutional concerns

“It does signal that he is not the same Governor that he was a year ago and he expended a lot of political capital and it’s cost him here in Florida,” said Binder.

And if the legislature were to override a potential veto from the Governor, it would not only be unprecedented in terms of DeSantis’ tenure.

A Republican legislature has never overridden a Republican Governor in Florida since the GOP secured its trifecta in the Governor’s mansion, House and Senate a quarter century ago.

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The bill passed out of the House with a veto-proof supermajority.

It slightly missed that mark in the Senate, with most Senate Democrats voting no, along with five Republicans as well.

That means to override the Governor, a handful of Senators would have to change their vote.

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“There’s a lot of things the Governor can line-item veto at the back end of this and if he views you as a potential enemy and he views your actions as disloyal, in the parlance of the Republican nominee for President, this could really change a lot and make what looked like a relatively smooth session blow up really, really quickly,” said Binder.

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