Gov. DeSantis receives Gulf of America bills. When will he sign them?

Image via AP.

The next stop for bills promoting the “Gulf of America” name is Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk.

DeSantis was the first state official to use the new name in an executive order declaring a state of emergency over a Winter storm last month. That order said the inclement weather was headed to Florida across the “Gulf of America.”

On Friday, he received the bills that would change 92 statutory references in Florida law to refer to the body of water along Florida’s west coast as the new name (HB 575) and put “Gulf of America” in K-12 instructional materials (HB 549).

The Senate substituted the House bills that had passed earlier this month for its own product.

Republican Sen. Nick DiCeglie, who sponsored the Senate version of the reviser bill, said the “Gulf of America is patriotic” and that the “long overdue” bill “is about patriotism.”

Not everyone was sold.

Democratic Sen. Lori Berman said that these bills “divert attention and resources from urgent issues that affect the lives of all Floridians.”

DiCeglie said that he and other legislators could “walk and chew gum at the same time” ahead of the 28-9 vote for the reviser bill.

Republican Sen. Joe Gruters, who carried the Senate version of the bill requiring new instructional materials as they come up for replacement to reflect the “Gulf of America” name, said the bill would align Florida with President Donald Trump’s executive order before the 28-9 vote for his measure.

Leadership backs the bills.

“Ever since President Trump entered the Oval Office, he has fought for America first policies that honor our country’s greatness,” said Senate President Ben Albritton. “Mr. President, I’m proud to say that the Florida Senate stands with you in the fight to recognize the Gulf of America and celebrate American exceptionalism.”

Tallahassee Republicans have quickly embraced the new name for the body of water that was called the Gulf of Mexico without controversy until earlier this year.

Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson is backing the President’s preference regarding government documents, pushing for changes on behalf of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Simpson’s goal is to rename the body of water as the Gulf of America “as quickly as possible … in all department administrative rules, forms, maps, and resources.”

While there’s more controversy outside Tallahassee (The Associated Press and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum haven’t accepted the Gulf of America designation), that’s not germane to the legislative process in the Sunshine State.