A.G. Gancarski
Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed and showcased “law-and-order” legislation which he framed as part of his effort to protect Floridians from “pathologies” that are run rampant in other states.
He also took aim at a provision in President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” that would ban states from regulating artificial intelligence.
The Governor spotlighted “Brooke’s Law” (SB 700) as a means to corral deepfake content that leaves people “victimized,” allowing them a legal mechanism to counter “digital, sexual abuse” by demanding its removal from the platforms.
DeSantis also sided with conservatives who aren’t at ease with federal preemption of state regulations. He used the bill as a jump-off to discuss the move to “kneecap the states” against a technology he sees as dangerous.
“They’re talking about, in Washington, banning states from being able to regulate it at all for the next 10 years. And, as Governor, I want to be able to provide protections for you working with the Legislature if that’s warranted,” DeSantis said.
“This stuff is progressing so quickly, but you will absolutely get to a point where they can just take you, they can put words in your mouth and do a video, and you’re basically saying something that’s the opposite of what you actually believe. … That’s not the world that we want to live in. And so I think that the states need to be able to retain their ability to handle the emerging AI issues.”
The Governor made the comments and signed other measures at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Jacksonville office.
DeSantis approved HB 777, which “expands the definition of luring.”
He also OK’d HB 1351, which “strengthens registration and reporting requirements” for sexual offenders and plugs a loophole that allows them to fudge residency requirements.
Additionally, he made HB 1455 official, legislation which provides mandatory minimums for sexual offenders to protect against the whims of “wishy-washy” Judges.
Finally, he signed SB 1804, which establishes capital human trafficking as a capital felony offense.
