Florida’s special session on redistricting will be delayed one week, after Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a proclamation Wednesday postponing it and reviving a couple of his priorities that failed during the regular legislative session.
The session was set to begin Monday, but DeSantis reset lawmakers’ return to Tallahassee to April 28, with the session lasting until May 1.
His proclamation also asks lawmakers address two of his key issues that failed to win House support in the 2026 session: a bill expanding vaccine exemptions for public K-12 students; and legislation aimed at protecting consumers’ interactions with artificial intelligence.
When asked about a potential delay on Tuesday, DeSantis said he expected the issue to be addressed “One way or another … within the next two weeks.”
Senate President Ben Albritton, a Wauchula Republican, was quick to advise members of his chamber on Wednesday they will await map changes from DeSantis rather than draft their own.
“The Senate is not drafting or producing a map for introduction during the special session,” Albritton wrote in a memo to members shortly after DeSantis issued the proclamation. “It is our expectation … a proposal will be transmitted from the Governor’s Office to the Senate for our consideration.”
DeSantis’ office is expected to present his proposal to the Senate Rules Committee on April 28, the memo states.
Albritton warned members that as in prior redistricting cycles, significant litigation has followed any new lines.
"We look forward to seeing the Governor's proposed map," House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, said in a released statement. "The other issues mentioned in the proclamation will be evaluated once we have seen the draft legislation."
The atypical mid-decade map changes are being pushed by the White House in an effort by Republicans to maintain control of the U.S. House in the upcoming mid-term elections.
DeSantis backed the vaccine proposal (SB 1756), that sought to expand exemptions for students to enter public K-12 schools and create a new “conscience” category for parents to opt out of immunizations.
The measure also would have required health care practitioners who administer vaccines to offer parents an alternative vaccine schedule and to provide parents with information about the benefits and risks of vaccines at the time of vaccination.
The bill also allowed pharmacists to provide ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug often prescribed for animals, over-the-counter to adults without a prescription. However, this part of the bill was not mentioned in the proclamation.
On the last day of the regular session on March 13, DeSantis held a press conference in Jacksonville and criticized the House for not considering the “AI Bill of Rights” and “Medical Freedom.”
"It seems to me you're fumbling right on the goal line here," DeSantis said about the vaccine exemption measure. "Punch it in for the touchdown and get it done. I know a lot of people in Florida really want to see these protections written into law."
He then told the crowd: “It’s not going to be the last word on it.”
Parents' rights advocates heavily supported the measure, but pediatricians and health care practitioners deemed it irresponsible, warning of the dangers the bill could cause.
The bill still stopped short of what DeSantis and Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo originally asked legislators to file for the 2026 session: repealing all vaccine mandates in the state.
DeSantis also pushed for an “AI Bill of Rights,” which passed the Senate but failed to move in the House, where Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, preferred the issue to be handled at the federal level, backing an executive order issued by President Trump to block state-level AI laws.
The bill (SB 482) seeks to establish a right for parents to control children’s interactions with AI chatbots. The proposal also declared that people have a right to know when they’re communicating with a human or an AI system or chatbot, and set rules about the unauthorized use of people’s names, images or likenesses.
The measure also says people have a right to know whether political advertisements were created in whole or in part with the use of artificial intelligence and would prohibit government agencies in Florida from contracting with AI firms tied to what is known as a “foreign country of concern,” such as China or Russia.
In his memo, Albritton stated senators will file identical versions of the bills during the special session.
