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SPECIAL SESSION ON CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AND MEDICAL FREEDOM
The House and the Senate will convene next week, at the direction of Governor DeSantis, to consider three issues. The special session will begin Tuesday, April 28 and conclude no later than Friday, May 1. As you may recall, Governor DeSantis first announced a Special Session in January to redraw Florida’s congressional districts. On April 15, the Governor issued an amended proclamation to expand the scope of the special session to also include legislation addressing issues relating to:
- Protecting Floridians from the dangers of artificial intelligence, including an AI Bill of Rights, similar to Senate Bill 482. On Friday, April 24, Senator Brodeur filed Senate Bill 2-D, which would establish an AI Bill of Rights, and Senate Bill 4-D, which creates a public records exemption for investigations involving chatbots as authorized in the AI Bill of Rights.
- Medical freedom, similar to Senate Bill 1756, concerning the vaccination and immunization of children and the sale of ivermectin. On Friday, April 24, Senator Yarborough filed Senate Bill 6-D, i.e. the Medical Freedom Act, which contains the substance of his bill filed in the Spring.
Both SB482 and SB 1756 were passed by the Senate during the 2026 Regular Session but were not considered in the House.
SPECIAL SESSION ON THE BUDGET
The Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate reached an agreement on budget allocations and have announced that they expect lawmakers will be coming back to Tallahassee in May to finalize the spending plan for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. The Budget Special Session is scheduled to begin Tuesday, May 12 and end no later than Friday, May 29. Budget conference committee meetings will be held during the first week, and any unresolved matters after Friday, May 15 will be elevated to the senior leadership of the respective chambers. Members are expected to return between May 26 and May 29 to vote on the final budget.
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