Sen. Darryl Rouson’s name will be attached to a University of South Florida center focused on mental health after all.
As Gov. Ron DeSantis signed two bills Wednesday, he said the Florida Senate and the University of South Florida agreed to rename the Florida Mental Health Institute at USF after Rouson, a longtime Democrat lawmaker from St. Petersburg who in the past was homeless and a drug addict.
“He's had a huge focus on menta health and substance abuse policies throughout his time in the Florida Legislature,” DeSantis said of Rouson during an appearance at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine in Tampa.
Rouson sponsored one of the two bills (SB 1620) DeSantis signed on Wednesday. The measure will carry out a series of recommendations from Florida’s Commission on Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder.
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In late April, the bill spurred controversy after Senate Appropriations Chair Ed Hooper, R-Clearwater, attached a change to create a Center for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Research at USF and name it after Rouson. The House objected and removed the center from the bill.
Senators criticized the House and vowed to honor Rouson.
House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, called the Senate change to the bill a “backdoor” effort to essentially fund the new center, which wasn’t part of the commission’s recommendations.
“The senators were rightfully outraged, but they should direct their outrage at their own chamber who made this move in an attempt to push a backdoor project and used the good senator's legacy to do so,” Perez said in a statement at the time.
DeSantis, who has been at odds with Perez on various issues this year, described the incident in a post on X as “the Florida House of Pettiness in all its glory …”
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Rouson, for his part, called for the bill to pass without the Senate change, saying that, “for me, it is more important that the work continues.”
Rouson on Wednesday said he was honored with the newly announced naming agreement, which he said fellow senators kept a secret. He also touted the bill, which will take effect Tuesday.
“It will ensure that Florida continues to be the leader in how we treat people living with mental illness and addiction, not just in moments of crisis, but across the entire continuum of care,” Rouson said.
The bill deals with a series of issues, including updating treatment plans for patients in facilities and conducting reviews of school-based behavioral health services.
The other measure DeSantis signed is intended to divert into treatment programs people who are in the criminal justice system and have mental illnesses. The bill (SB 168) was named after Tristin Murphy, who in 2021 died of suicide while he was a prison inmate on a work assignment.
Mike Griffin, vice chair of the USF Board of Trustees, said a resolution is in the works to formally name the center for Rouson.
The center, part of the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, will conduct research to advance the scientific understanding of the relationship between substance abuse and mental health issues, according to USF. Goals include improving treatment outcomes and reducing the societal impacts of substance abuse and mental health conditions.
“The University of South Florida is where you come for solutions, it’s where you come for action, where you come for impact,” Griffin said.
The center will build upon the state’s investment in USF’s efforts to address mental health and addiction. During the 2024 legislative session, USF was awarded $5 million in recurring funds to create the Florida Center for Behavioral Health Workforce.
The Legislature also designated USF's academic partner, Tampa General Hospital, as one of the first four behavioral health teaching hospitals in Florida. In February, the TGH Behavioral Health Hospital was opened in partnership with USF Health and Lifepoint Health.
WUSF's Rick Mayer contributed to this report.
