Florida House and Senate hold special session, focus on mask and vaccine mandates

The battle against vaccine and mask mandate in the State of Florida is heating up this week. The Florida House and Senate are holding special sessions this week to debate COVID-19 related mandates.

Florida could become the first state to pass a law fining businesses and hospitals that comply with President Biden’s vaccine mandate. That session began on Monday, but there’s no telling how long it could take for this bill to become law.

For now, the focus isn’t the finish line, at least not for state Democrats. They believe what’s happening is personal but between two men who aren’t even present.

Florida Democrats object to this special session. Representative Carlos Guillermo Smith represents Orlando. “Floridians are exhausted by COVID-19, but they’re also exhausted by the politicization of COVID-19,” Smith said.

Almost all Democrats are either thinking or saying this. But, perhaps, none of the Democrats went as far as State Representative Evan Jenne. He told reporters via Zoom that this special session was nothing but a DeSantis-Biden war.  “This is about two men having a measuring contest that they should have in private. Instead, they’re having it spill out in full public view,” Jenne said. “This is political theater.”

Republican Representative Bob Rummel of Naples echoed the sentiments of other House and Senate Republicans. “I think the theater has started in Washington with the Joe Biden administration and the overreach of the federal government,” Rummel said. He laughed off the idea that the special session is anything other than necessary to “keep Florida free.”

North Fort Myers Republican Representative Spencer Roach has this to say, “Look, everything we do up here is political. We’re politicians, [and] this is the Florida legislature.” “I think this is consistent with where the governor’s been all along, so I don’t see this as something he’s using for political leverage,” said Roach.

“If picking people living and not dying is bad politically, I don’t know what I’m doing here anymore,” Jenne said.

As the week progresses, this back and forth between Republicans and Democrats will continue. Both sides believe they know how this discussion will end. The GOP controls both the Florida House and Senate and hopes to deliver some close to what Governor DeSantis wants.