‘Left it all on the field’: Chris Sprowls reflects on his time as House Speaker

Image via Colin Hackley.

House Speaker Chris Sprowls wrapped his final Legislative Session — regular Session, at least — in the House this week.

The Palm Harbor Republican held the gavel for a tumultuous two years, though his term wasn’t defined by the pandemic. Despite the headwinds it presented, he worked in concert with his Senate counterpart to usher several substantial pieces of legislation into law and pass successive record-breaking budgets.

He managed to get quite a few of his own priorities across the finish line as well, with many of them, such as his book delivery program and extension of Medicaid for new mothers, being met with bipartisan praise.

As the sun sets on his time in the Legislature, he sat down with Florida Politics to reflect on his tenure.

Florida Politics: What are you most proud of over these last two years?

Speaker Sprowls:  I’m proud that we have no regrets and that we started and finished with a bold vision and outcomes for Florida, whether that was in having the largest expansion of school choice, or protecting our environment, or making sure that the kids were struggling without a dad had a path to make their dad engage in real life. I’m proud that we fought boldly and got to leave this Session in the Florida House with nothing left behind.

Florida Politics: What did you learn most about yourself during your time as Speaker?

Speaker Sprowls: I think I learned that having a good team is what makes you truly successful and also making sure that you’re putting the right people in the right positions, that you’re lifting them up and that you’re supporting them and you have their back all the time. That is the way that you’re going to maximize the benefit to the entire organization, in this case, the Florida House. We’ve had this amazing leadership team and group of members, a lot of freshmen members that we lifted up early and gave really, really big bills to and they just rose to the occasion. And I think that it’s because of that that we’re going to leave the House stronger than we found it.

Florida Politics: If your time serving Speaker was a memoir, what would the title be and why?

Speaker Sprowls: “Left It All On the Field,” because we have no regrets and did everything we came here to do. Whether it’s the designation speech or opening day speeches, all the stuff that we laid out before, we did it.

Florida Politics: What would you say to those who say this last year was a cultural war session?

Speaker Sprowls: I’d say they weren’t paying attention and they spent too much time on Twitter. Because the reality is, there were so many great things that happened for Florida — most robust sales tax breaks for everyday Floridians, including diapers, books and baby clothes; historic per-student funding; and more. For example, they may say culture wars is protecting human life, and I disagree; I think that that’s an admirable thing. I’m proud of it. I’m proud to tell people that we did it. And you know what? Twitter can say what they want about us, but the reality is, is that we are leaving Florida better than we found it; we did really bold things, and we truly believe in what we what we voted on.