Governor Ron DeSantis’ powerful State of the State Address

Governor Ron DeSantis delivered his third State of the State Address to a joint session of the Florida Legislature Tuesday at the launch of the 2021 session. It was a powerful speech with a moving video of a diversity of Floridians being thankful for the opportunities and hope that Governor DeSantis provided this past year by diligently defending their freedoms.

During his speech, Governor DeSantis honored those who have died from COVID, recognizing the toll the virus has taken on family members, by directing the state of Florida to lower the flags to half-staff today. 

“We are saddened by the thousands of Floridians – and hundreds of thousands of Americans – who have died with COVID. And we sympathize with the family members who in many instances were not even permitted to see their loved ones in person, at a nursing home or in the hospital.” ~ Governor Ron DeSantis

Below are some highlights from his address, or you can watch the whole speech here:

To watch the video presentation that played during the speech, go here:

Florida is the brightest spot in Covid response

“While so many other states kept locking people down, Florida lifted people up.

“Florida’s schools are open – and we are one of only a handful of states in which every parent has a right to send a child to school in-person. All Floridians have a right to earn a living – and our citizens are employed at higher rates than those in the nation as a whole.

“Every job is essential. If you are working hard to earn a living, we got your back in the state of Florida. Every business in Florida has a right to operate. We have stood up for small, family-owned businesses and have saved thousands of them from ruin.

“Because of our actions, Florida is leading the nation in the number of people submitting business formation applications and we are one of the top destinations for business relocation.

“Friends, legislators, Floridians, lend me your ears: We will not let anybody close your schools, we will not let anybody take your jobs and we will not let anybody close your businesses!”

Florida’s fiscal responsibility pays off

“Because Florida’s economy is open, revenue is coming in at levels far higher than even the most recent revised estimates. For the last three months – December to February – preliminary estimates peg the increase in revenue at more than $800 million over and above the December revenue estimation. 

“Florida is below the national average in unemployment and much lower than our peer states of TX, NY, and CA. We also anticipate downward revisions of December’s unemployment numbers to reflect even stronger jobs numbers.

“Throughout the pandemic, Florida has not touched one red cent from our rainy day fund.”

Standing behind law enforcement 

Working with President Simpson, Speaker Sprowls and law enforcement groups across the state, we have proposed the strongest anti-rioting, pro-law enforcement reforms in the nation. We will not permit localities to jeopardize the safety of their citizens by indulging in the insane fantasy of defunding law enforcement.

We will not allow our cities to burn and violence to rule the streets. And we will not leave any doubt in the minds of those who wear the uniform that the state of Florida stands with you. 

Tackling Big Tech

“Big Tech wields monopolistic power over the public in ways that would have made the monopolists of the early 20^th century blush. Floridians have a right to control their personal data and Big Tech should not be able to make billions of dollars off us without our informed consent.

“Florida has always been a state that strongly supports free speech, and we cannot allow the contours of acceptable speech to be adjudicated by the whims of oligarchs in Silicon Valley. Nor we can allow Floridians to be ‘de-platformed’ or silenced with no means of recourse, and this is especially true of those who rely on these technology platforms for their livelihoods.”

“Finally, because Florida is dedicated to free and fair elections, we cannot allow Big Tech to interfere in our elections by putting a thumb on the scale for political candidates favored by Silicon Valley.

Leading on free and fair elections

“Speaking of elections, we should take a moment to enjoy the fact that Florida ran perhaps the most transparent and efficient election in the nation in 2020. People actually asked, why cannot these other states be like Florida? Such a sentiment would have been unthinkable twenty years ago.

“We need to make sure our elections are transparent and run efficiently. There should be no ballot harvesting in the state of Florida. One person, one vote.

“We also cannot allow private groups to pour millions of dollars into the administration of our elections. That is a public function and should be done free from this type of private interference.”