ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Florida lawmakers will convene in Tallahassee in just under a couple of weeks for another special session.
Gov. Ron DeSantis is vowing to place more state sanctions on Iran as he and other state lawmakers take action to support Israel and stand against Hamas, which Iran backs.
"These will be by far the strongest Iran sanctions that any state has enacted of all 50 states throughout this country," DeSantis said days after Hamas attacked Israel.
Lawmakers are slated to convene for four days starting on Nov. 6 through Nov. 9.
Typically, the federal government takes care of international issues, but states have the right to prevent certain transactions, said 10 Tampa Bay political analyst Dr. Lars Hafner.
"But under normal circumstances, it would not be the call for a special legislative session. It's just something that could be done just in the regular session," Hafner said.
Florida Democrats criticized the nature of the special session stating the governor is using the state legislature for his presidential campaign.
"He is forcing us to spend public dollars dealing with foreign relations, which is not the responsibility of the state," said Rep. Anna V. Eskamani, D-Orlando.
Democrats argue the session should be more focused on state issues like property insurance. Currently, the special session is expected to go through tax relief and financial aid for Hurricane Idalia survivors, along with funding recovery and resiliency efforts related to natural disasters amid mounting insurance prices.
"As an Iranian American who absolutely despises the Islamic Republic of Iran, this is a government that has hurt my family, a government that has caused so much terror in the country and around the world, but I know that wasting taxpayer dollars to boost DeSantis' presidential bid is wrong," she said.
Eskamani also said some issues that are Florida-focused in the upcoming session could be resolved without a special session.
Aside from further sanctions on Iran, the legislature will also convene to "provide a mechanism to increase the number of students served under the Family Empowerment Scholarship for students with disabilities."
In addition to barring ties with Iran, the session will focus on support for Israel, along with possibly funding additional security for Jewish centers and institutions.