Gov. Ron DeSantis gave the Florida Legislature a snapshot of the year’s events, tragedies, and victories, and provided the framework for the future in his State of the State speech on Jan. 11.
DeSantis told lawmakers that during the past year, with their help, Florida became the “freest state in the United States.”
“Florida has become the escape hatch for those chafing under authoritarian, arbitrary, and seemingly never-ending mandates and restrictions,” the governor said. “While so many around the country have consigned the people’s rights to the graveyard, Florida has stood as freedom’s vanguard.”
The governor said that he has seen other states deny children education due to “reckless, politically motivated school closures,” while workers were denied employment due to “heavy-handed mandates” and freedoms were taken away due to “coercive biomedical apparatus.”
“These unprecedented policies have been as ineffective as they have been destructive,” he said.
DeSantis told the 2022 legislative joint session that the state has performed “strong” and has one of the “largest surpluses in state history.”
“Florida’s revenues have exceeded estimates by billions of dollars over the past year,” he said. “This is all being done with no income tax and the lowest per capita tax burden in America.”
