Paul Renner kicks off Session seeking social media crackdown, budget changes

House Speaker Paul Renner, a Palm Coast Republican, began the 2024 Session pushing for his top priority of a ban on social media accounts for children, while also floating changes to the state’s budget.

Despite a robust projected surplus of $7 billion for the next fiscal year, Renner warned lawmakers must “lower discretionary spending across the board” to pay for new plans spearheaded by Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, a Naples Republican, to expand the health care workforce and access to mental health.

“We can fund new initiatives to improve health care, including mental health, but only if we restrain spending elsewhere,” Renner said in his opening speech. “This means we must eliminate what remains of corporate welfare, avoid taking on new debt, and lower discretionary spending across the board. We must also build a budget that can withstand economic downturn tomorrow while protecting essential services.”

Renner also wants to reroute money the state receives from gambling through the Seminole Compact to environmental projects.

“In collaboration with our Senate partners, we will commit new funds from the Seminole Compact to support Florida’s environmental infrastructure and protect our natural resources for the future,” he said.

But his top priority is protecting children from what he sees as the harmful effects of social media. He cited a survey of high school girls showing 30% contemplated suicide, 41% experienced poor mental health within a 30-day period and 57% had persistent feelings of hopelessness.

“Children have always faced mean girls and boys, but social media has changed the game and causes unprecedented damage to children’s mental health. And here’s the truth — the social media companies know this,” Renner said.

“They also know that they designed social media to be as addictive as possible. Before social media, those mean kids barely made a dent in our children’s mental health. But the rise of social media has hollowed out what should be a childhood of happiness and big dreams.

Renner is backing HB 1, a bill sponsored by Reps. Tyler Sirois, a Merritt Island Republican, and Fiona McFarland, a Sarasota Republican. The bill bans social media companies from allowing minors to create new accounts and requires them to accept requests from parents to terminate existing accounts, as well as requiring age verification.

Another reason for the legislation, Renner said, is to shield children from pornography online.

“Where pornography is concerned, the rules for adults cannot be the same for children. We cannot stand by and allow children to access hardcore pornography, and we plan to do something about it,” Renner said. “Call it a culture war if you want, but it is another battle to defend common sense against those who want to obliterate the distinction between adulthood and childhood. It’s a battle we intend to win.”