By Jim Turner ©2025 The News Service of Florida
TALLAHASSEE — Sen. Darryl Rouson, a longtime Democratic lawmaker from St. Petersburg, got caught in the crossfire Wednesday as House and Senate leaders struggle to reach an agreement on a budget and other issues.
Senate Appropriations Chair Ed Hooper, R-Clearwater, last week amended a health-care bill (SB 1620) to name a new Center for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Research at the University of South Florida after Rouson, who sponsored the bill.
The House on Tuesday removed the center from the bill, which caused senators Wednesday to rally around Rouson, a legislator since 2008 who in the past was homeless and a drug addict.
“It hurts. It hurts because I’m somebody in recovery,” Sen. Rosalind Osgood, D-Fort Lauderdale, said.
“I’m just glad that in a year-and-a-half we’ll have another speaker who will hopefully support the naming of the program after you,” Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, said to Rouson.
Rouson, for his part, wanted to approve the revised bill, saying its purpose was more important than the recognition. It remained pending Thursday morning.
“The establishment of this center means a great deal to those who believe in advancing mental health care with evidence-based compassion,” Rouson said on the Senate floor. “Unfortunately, the House didn’t see it our way. And for me, it is more important that the work continues.”
The Senate display of support for Rouson caused House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, to accuse the Senate of “emotionally blackmailing” the House to essentially fund a project.
“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.
Perez said he’d “be happy” to work with the Senate to honor Rouson, but that the center wasn’t part of recommendations from the state Commission on Mental Health and Substance Abuse Disorders or in the House version of the measure.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has been at odds with Perez on various issues, described the incident on X as “the Florida House of Pettiness in all its glory…”
OFFERING A VISION
Taking issue with Sen. Jason Pizzo’s assessment that the Democratic Party was “dead,” new Senate Minority Leader Lori Berman said that “we are alive and kicking.”
“We may not hold the majority, but we have something just as powerful, a vision rooted in fairness, in justice, in equality and in care,” Berman, D-Boca Raton, said at the start of Monday’s Senate floor session.
Berman became minority leader after Pizzo, of Sunny Isles Beach, announced last week that he was leaving the Democratic Party — and the minority leader’s job. Pizzo now has no party affiliation.
Berman described Democrats’ vision as including issues such as seeking funding for public schools, providing affordable and accessible health care and addressing housing problems.
“This is what we believe, and this is what I will fight for,” Berman said. “I believe in the potential of Florida’s future. And I will fight to see it realized. I will lead with heart with purpose and with the unwavering belief that Florida’s best days are ahead of us.”
Now with just 10 Democrats in the 40-member Senate, Berman will lead her caucus for the remainder of the 2025 session and the 2026 session before handing the title to Sen. Tracie Davis, D-Jacksonville.
When he made his announcement last week, Pizzo said “the Democrat [sic] Party in Florida is dead.”
“There are good people that can resuscitate it. But they don’t want it to be me,” Pizzo said.
HUNTING DEBATE GEARS UP
Animal rights activists said Tuesday that Floridians are overwhelmingly against the state holding a bear hunt, after they are provided details about past hunts and potential hunting methods.
With the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission set to hear a staff proposal on bear hunting at a May 21 meeting in Ocala, the Humane World for Animals — formerly the Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International — released poll results that said 81 percent of Florida voters opposed holding the first bear hunt in more than a decade.
The findings were from a survey conducted April 22 through April 24 of 500 Florida voters. Of those contacted, 75 percent were from the Miami, Orlando-Daytona, Tampa-St. Petersburg or Palm Beach-Treasure Coast areas.
The agenda for the commission’s meeting indicates the wildlife panel could give directions about a bear hunt that would be voted on at a future meeting. Commission staff members held online meetings this year, with a proposal discussed to issue up to 187 permits for a potential hunt in December.
The possibility of a bear hunt was revived after two-thirds of Florida voters in November approved a measure that enshrined hunting and fishing rights in the state Constitution. Bear hunting has long been controversial, with more than 300 bears killed during the last hunt in 2015.
SOCIAL MEDIA POST OF THE WEEK
“I am deeply disappointed by the Florida Legislature’s vote to ban fluoride from tap water, a decision that disregards the guidance of dentists, doctors, and medical experts. Ending fluoridation will have long-lasting impact on health—especially for our most vulnerable families.” — Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava (@MayorDaniella).
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