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Republican Representative Daniel Perez of Miami was designated as the next Florida House speaker for the 2024-2026 legislative term. A ceremony was held in the House on Monday.
Perez will succeed Republican Speaker Paul Renner after the 2024 elections and serve a two-year term.
Perez was elected to the House in 2017. He says he was influenced by his experiences as an American of Cuban descent.
“Members, we’re in danger of becoming a conveyor belt. Passing along every bill, funding every project without ever stopping, thinking, and questioning: is this an appropriate use of our power? Government cannot be all things to all people.”
During the last session, he sponsored a bill that highlighted Governor Ron DeSantis’s election priorities. The bill creates an Office of Election Crimes & Security and increases fines for third-party groups that register voters.
In a response after the ceremony, House Minority Leader Fentrice Driscoll said she is skeptical but hopeful.
“Now that I’ve been able to sit through many of these, they often come with very big promises and with good intentions of changing things, but Tallahassee has a way of just moving with an inertia that’s very difficult to overcome, but, like I said, we’ll see what actually happens when Speaker Designate Perez is in charge, and his comments were encouraging to hear.”
The legislative session starts in January.
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