Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has called for a special session in order to ban vaccine mandates and mask mandates, but the legislation being proposed is not going as far as DeSantis initially called for.
One of the bills would require employers to provide alternatives to vaccination, and another bill would allow parents to sue school boards or districts over mask mandates. DeSantis has touted the slate of bills in next week’s special session as some of the “strongest protections for both private and public sector employees anywhere in the country.”
Throughout the pandemic, DeSantis has been against vaccine mandates, going so far as to ban vaccine passports earlier this year. Recently, Leon County Circuit Judge Layne Smith sided with the state over its vaccine passport ban saying businesses cannot force patrons to “produce documentary proof of vaccination or recovery..”
However “dozens of Florida entities” are currently under investigation for violating the state’s vaccine passport ban.
“Thrilled to sign legislation that prohibits COVID-19 vaccine passports in Florida,” DeSantis said in May. “Neither government, nor private businesses, will be able to condition your participation in everyday life on producing private health information.”
Thrilled to sign legislation that prohibits COVID-19 vaccine passports in Florida. Neither government, nor private businesses, will be able to condition your participation in everyday life on producing private health information. https://t.co/0NMBk1l9zI
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) May 3, 2021
Last month, DeSantis called for legislation that would hold businesses accountable for any medical harm or adverse effects from mandated vaccinations, and he also called for legislation to permit employees to sue their employers over the mandated vaccination. Neither of those proposed ideas is included in the filed legislation for next week’s special session.
The lite versions of vaccine mandate bans proposed in the legislation are a change from the proposals that DeSantis previously supported. Part of the reason for the disconnect is that Florida’s biggest businesses and trade federations have voiced their opposition to bans and stripping legal protections for businesses.
“This is very contradictory to where the governor has positioned this state,” said Mark Trowbridge, president and CEO of the Coral Gables Chambers of Commerce. “We have been rolling out the red carpet to attract new employers and working to help all types of employers to thrive. So if someone wants to come to Florida but wants their employees vaccinated and now they can be held liable, this might make them think twice.’’
Similarly, Florida Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mark Wilson, said “we’re not asking for legislation” during the special session.
“We’ve always been against government mandating what business can do and can’t do,” Wilson said.
Wilson also said many of their members are not supportive of President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate and are fine with the current status of requiring weekly COVID testing, among other measures.
“Most of our members are not mandating the vaccine by far, but those that are generally giving options and letting employees get a vaccine or get tested and mask up or work from home,” Wilson said. “We are actually searching for companies that are not.”
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Grant Holcomb is a reporter at The Florida Capital Star and The Star News Network. Follow Grant on Twitter and direct message tips.
