TALLAHASSE, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis is calling lawmakers back to Tallahassee for a special session.

What You Need To Know

  • Gov. DeSantis made the announcement Monday morning at the Florida Capitol, about 72 hours after he met with President-elect Donald Trump.

  • The governor said he wants to order local officials to do what the state wants on illegal immigration and offer funds to help with that effort.

  • Rep. Fentrice Driskell is critical of the need for a special session, calling it a “stunt.”

He made the announcement Monday morning at the Florida Capitol, about 72 hours after he met with President-elect Donald Trump.

The session will start Jan. 27 and will address a number of issues, primarily immigration. The governor said he wants Florida to help Trump hit the ground running.

"We don't have the ability to just sit around and wait with a new president taking office, with these new policy changes that are coming," he said. "We've got to get ahead of it to make sure that we're there as a willing partner with the Trump administration to be able to accomplish what the voters sent President Trump to accomplish."

Rep. Fentrice Driskell is critical of the need for a special session, calling it a “stunt.”

“It’s an attempt to get attention. It’s an attempt to maybe try to take some of the shine away from the president just after he’s been inaugurated,” Driskell said.

DeSantis said he wants to order local officials to do what the state wants on illegal immigration and offer funds to help with that effort.

He threatened to suspend local officials if they don’t follow what the state wants on immigration

The governor also wants to repeal in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants, which has been a law since 2014. He called it an incentive for coming to the state illegally.

Sen. Randy Fine supports the governor’s stance on immigration.

“Gov. DeSantis and I have had our differences, but one thing we have both wanted to do for years is end the $45 million in handouts for illegal immigrants that attend our world-renowned colleges and universities,” said Fine. 

“I am excited that as I prepare to leave the Legislature for Congress, we will be able to work together to get this done. It is immoral that Americans from the other 49 states pay more to attend Florida’s colleges and universities than illegal immigrants. And it is appalling that we ask Floridians to pay $45 million a year to facilitate it.”

DeSantis also said he is asking for more hurricane relief, specifically agricultural needs and home repair, as well as condo relief because of the financial burden on condo owners since the 2021 Surfside condominium collapse.

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