Speaking to Florida Sheriffs, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis, a possible gubernatorial contender, promote "law and order" policies.
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00:00To be joined by Florida sheriffs, we're very proud of the work that they do.
00:05We do have Bill Prumell here, of course, Charlotte County Sheriff and the President of the Association.
00:11We've got a lot of the Florida sheriffs that are standing behind us on the dais up there.
00:15And then, of course, we have our great Senator Jay Collins and our wonderful First Lady, my wife, Casey.
00:21So thank you all for being here.
00:28Some take it for granted that we're a law and order state.
00:31I think the folks that wear these uniforms, they've watched what's gone on in the rest of the country,
00:36really for the last maybe 10, 15 years, where law enforcement became a target.
00:41You had movements to attack the police, to defund law enforcement.
00:46You saw cities burning down with the BLM riots during the summer of 2020, and on and on it goes.
00:53And that has not been the experience in Florida.
00:56We say we're a law and order state, but we have backed that up with strong action to be a law and order state.
01:04When you did have those riots in the summer of 2020, I made it clear as governor we would not tolerate it.
01:10These sheriffs made it clear they would not tolerate it.
01:14You didn't see our cities burning down like you did in other parts of the country.
01:19We follow that up, though, with passing the strongest anti-rioting legislation anywhere in the country that said very simply,
01:27if you riot, if you loot, if you're attacking law enforcement, you will be held accountable in the state of Florida.
01:34If you do things like block traffic, we are not going to accept that.
01:38And so you had the pro-Hamas people last year.
01:41They thought that they would block traffic around our theme parks in Orlando.
01:46That took about 11 minutes before Florida Highway Patrol ejected them from the street.
01:51Tried the same thing down in South Florida, in Miami.
01:54Didn't last very long there.
01:56We're not tolerating the nonsense.
01:58We're not going to let the inmates run the asylum.
02:02So we're proud of that.
02:04That is putting your money where your mouth is by providing substantive laws that make us a law and order state,
02:11not just the rhetoric to say that we are supportive of law enforcement.
02:17We have also enacted a law enforcement bonus program for new recruits.
02:23And this is something that was, on our part, an opportunity,
02:27because we saw how some of these officers were being treated in San Francisco, in Seattle, New York City, Chicago.
02:35I mean, some of these budgets were being slashed.
02:39You had all kinds of terrible politicians that were using law enforcement for scapegoat.
02:45And so we said, look, if you come to Florida, and you're new to Florida, and not just people from other states.
02:50Young people could also qualify for the bonuses, because we do think this is an honorable profession.
02:55You get a $5,000 signing bonus.
02:57So all these sheriffs have been able to use that bonus as they welcome in new recruits to their agencies.
03:04And we've seen that not just in sheriff's departments, but police departments and our state agencies.
03:09And that is on top of the bonuses we were doing.
03:12We did during COVID, we did $1,000 bonuses three years in a row for every sworn law enforcement officer in the state of Florida.
03:19And the thing about that was, look, it was nice.
03:22Obviously, we were in a period of inflation, thanks to what the federal government was doing.
03:27And so it helped on the margins to make ends meet.
03:31And what it used to be, that used to be more than it is now.
03:34But what people would say is, when they get the check, they'd say, it just shows that the state of Florida has my back.
03:40That they care about what we're doing, and that they support the job.
03:44And I think that's one of the things I'm proud about in Florida, is from the governor's office down to the local level,
03:49our communities really genuinely support what law enforcement do.
03:52It's not just for show.
03:54They understand it's important, and they don't take for granted that we have a 50 year low in the crime rate.
04:01So we're proud of having done that.
04:02We've also done Florida Law Enforcement Academy Scholarship Program, covering tuition fees up to $1,000 of eligible expenses.
04:10We believe that this is a noble profession.
04:14And we want to be able to provide a pathway for folks who want to serve in this profession.
04:20We had, before we went universal on school choice, we did have for a time where regardless of income,
04:26the children of law enforcement, sworn law enforcement, were able to get our scholarships.
04:31Now those scholarships, fortunately, are open to all.
04:34So it's not the kind of the special benefit anymore, and we're glad that we opened it up to all.
04:39But there was a time where, because you can have a sheriff's deputy and have a spouse that works,
04:44and you'd be priced out of getting a family empowerment scholarship.
04:47But it's not like you're living high on the hog.
04:49So we were happy to be able to do that.
04:51And we're also proud of the work that we're doing with the Florida sheriffs, as well as our other law enforcement, on immigration enforcement.
04:58All 67 Florida sheriffs have executed what are called 287G agreements with immigration and custom enforcement.
05:06There is no other state in the country that has done what Florida's done and has leaned in on this issue as much as we have.
05:15And these folks standing behind me.
05:17And the federal government is trying to pick up the pieces from the agency really being in disrepair for four years.
05:23They're getting it.
05:25They're going to get where they need to be, I think.
05:27But for us, we're ahead of the curve in Florida.
05:30And I thank everyone for leaning in on that.
05:32It's a very, very critical issue for the state of Florida.
05:36We also are recommending for our state law enforcement pay raises for 4,700 state sworn law enforcement officers.
05:44That would be 20% increase for entry level, 25% for veteran officers.
05:50And we really want to thank them for all they've done.
05:52So Florida, we don't just say we're law and order.
05:55We back it up with actions.
05:57We back it up with policies.
05:59And if we hadn't taken the actions and had the policies that we do, we wouldn't have had the results that we would have.
06:05So just like I tell these guys, I can sit here and do all this stuff as governor.
06:10I can sign bills.
06:11Ultimately, you guys are where the rubber meets the road, and so you deserve the credit for doing it.
06:16But it's also the flip side is true.
06:17These guys can be working as hard as they want.
06:19If they don't have support from state leadership or their local leadership, then you end up becoming a Seattle or a Chicago very quickly.
06:27So it's really been a team effort, and I'm excited at all the progress and look forward to more great work ahead.
06:33Now, our law enforcement officers are also uniquely positioned to assist people in their communities who are looking for help but need someone to point them in the right direction.
06:44Look, we've got some really bad people in our society, but we also have some people that are just really troubled.
06:50We have people that are addicted to drugs, that have had problems in their life, and that has led them to pursue criminal activity,
06:58but are people that need help more than anything.
07:03And law enforcement officers across the state encounter these types of folks who need assistance every single day.
07:10You have single parents.
07:11You have senior citizens.
07:13You have veterans.
07:14You have youth in foster care system, juvenile justice system, people with disabilities.
07:18Our law enforcement on the ground see our society, all the different permutations,
07:23better than maybe any other segment of our society in terms of the professional realm.
07:29So they patrol our communities.
07:31They see folks who have needs, and not just folks that have gone wayward, just normal folks who maybe have fallen on hard times.
07:40They need food.
07:41They need clothing.
07:42They need employment.
07:43They need substance abuse.
07:44They need other resources.
07:46We have spearheaded, well, I should say the First Lady has spearheaded the Hope Florida program,
07:51which was not originally designed with law enforcement in mind.
07:55It was really focusing on child welfare, the Department of Children and Families.
08:00We had seen for many years the limits of what a bureaucracy can accomplish.
08:06We've also seen for many decades the pitfalls of what a culture of dependency on government assistance can mean for people's ultimate horizons.
08:16Getting people off dependency and on a pathway to self-sufficiency broadens their horizons.
08:23When they're trapped in a cycle of dependency, that really lowers their potential.
08:29And we've seen that really since the great society's war on poverty in the 1960s.
08:35Now, these are not easy issues, but the First Lady really spearheaded a realization that in the state of Florida,
08:43and I think most places in the United States, but in the state of Florida, we have a lot of resources at our disposal.
08:49It's not all funneled through the government.
08:51Most of the stuff is not funded by tax dollars.
08:55Most of the best resources are not caught up in bureaucracies, but they're found in our houses of worship.
09:01They're found in our charities.
09:03They're found in a lot of our business community who wants to help people get up on their feet,
09:08and even individuals who volunteer their efforts to help others in need.
09:12And so through Hope Florida, they've been able to transform the child welfare system into,
09:19don't try to just get as many people on programs for as long as possible as you can.
09:24Try to liberate folks in need from these programs by linking them to all these other great resources that are in our communities.
09:31And so since the First Lady launched this, I think it's not even two years that we've had this,
09:37there have been 30,000 Floridians that have gotten off welfare programs, and it's saved the state about $100 million.
09:47And so it's good for taxpayers, but then those folks who now have a stake,
09:53people in the community have invested in them, they have a pathway to self-sufficiency,
09:58they are going to do so much better having that pathway in front of them.
10:03So I think it's been an incredibly successful social reform.
10:07There's been other states that have made pilgrimages down to Florida to be able to talk with folks who are involved in this,
10:14and trying to mimic that in other states across the country.
10:17Now, some of the states, quite frankly, are more left-leaning.
10:20They don't like the fact that Florida harnesses our places of worship and our religious communities and faith-based community.
10:28And I think that's them making a mistake.
10:30I think their hostility to faith institutions is not serving their constituents well.
10:35I can tell you, when we have folks in need, we have some of our churches and synagogues,
10:40they're the first one to answer the call, and they are there with folks through thick and thin.
10:45So to ignore the great impact that the faith community can have on people in need is to not arrive at the optimal policy.
10:53So Florida's doing it right, and I'm really proud of the success.
10:57But there's even more that you can do.
11:00So Hope Florida has expanded from the child welfare to other parts of state government, including elder affairs.
11:09Now, we have the ability with law enforcement, they have the resource cards,
11:14so they can quickly connect citizens in need on the Hope hotline and then be connected with the Hope Navigator.
11:21The Hope Navigators connect individuals in need with resources, set long-term goals,
11:25and develop a strategic plan to overcome barriers and achieve success.
11:29So to date, as I had mentioned, we had 30,000 Floridians have either completely eliminated or reduced their reliance on public assistance.
11:40That is out of 118,000 Floridians that have been referred to Hope Florida.
11:44Now, not all of them were on public assistance, obviously.
11:47And then the savings to taxpayers has been actually $108 million, so more than $100 million.
11:55And so today's announcement builds off this success.
11:58Hope Florida now officially can announce that we have a liaison station in the sheriff's offices in every one of Florida's 67 counties.
12:09These liaisons now serve as a dedicated person on staff who acts as a point of contact between the sheriff's office and Hope Florida,
12:16serves as a trained expert in Hope Florida, receives Hope Florida materials to distribute within their office,
12:23and trains others on the philosophy and functions of Hope Florida.
12:27It's going to help many more Floridians in need connect with those in Florida who can help.
12:31We are proud of the work that our law enforcement officers are doing as ambassadors of Hope Florida
12:36to equip, inform, and assist members of the public in connecting them with Hope Navigators.
12:41And I think this has the potential to be very, very positive because if you talk to some of these guys, as I have through the years,
12:48I mean, what I think most people in law enforcement will tell you is the problems that we have in criminal justice,
12:55there's just a subset of that that is mental health problems.
12:58And so these folks, perhaps if there had been an intervention earlier, would not have ended up devolving into committing criminal acts.
13:06So this is a great pathway as these officers are identifying folks to be able to get them on their feet and get them on a more productive path.
13:17So we are delivering on the commitment that we've made from the first day I was governor to support our law enforcement community.
13:25I really do hope that as the legislature goes through the budget, that we will have strong support in the budget for the men and women in law enforcement.
13:34They've earned it, and our support is very much needed.
13:37So thanks for everybody that's been involved with this.
13:39We'll hear from Casey, then we'll hear from Sheriff Primmell, and then we'll hear from Senator Jay Collins.
13:46So, Casey, the floor is yours.
13:53Well, thank you.
13:54I can't thank the sheriffs enough.
13:55To have cooperation from all 67 counties across the state of Florida is really special.
14:01But I think they understand the mission of what we're ultimately trying to do, right?
14:04When somebody is in need of help, do you get a check, government assistance, and that's where the story ends?
14:11Or can we help you on a pathway to economic self-sufficiency?
14:15Can we provide you a lifeline of hope?
14:18At the end of the day, we want to help people who are suffering, and they do not know where to turn.
14:24Can you imagine what it must be like for a single mom who's sitting there at the dining room table trying to figure out how she's going to keep the lights on?
14:32How she's going to be able to provide educational opportunities for her kids?
14:36How she's going to make sure that they have school supplies?
14:38How she can keep down a job?
14:40How she can make sure that they're doing their homework?
14:42She's taken on this burden all by herself, and she doesn't know where to turn to get help.
14:47We have the solution.
14:49The solution is not just government.
14:51The solution is out there in the communities.
14:53It's always been there.
14:55But what we do now is when that mom either is coming into the government system, or what we do, we call them.
15:02We know you're on government assistance.
15:04We say to that single mom, hey, we see you're struggling.
15:08Where do you see yourself in five years?
15:10Because we want to help.
15:12And now we take you on a pathway.
15:14That pathway starts not with government, but with all of the nonprofits who have been out there in the community for years and years providing supports, but the two never knew that they were there.
15:25The single mom didn't know to go down the street to ask this nonprofit for this, that, or the other.
15:29We make a connection now.
15:31We also make a connection with our faith-based communities, because they've been the biggest untapped resource as it pertains to help with government.
15:39We have 16.5 million people of faith across this state, 20,000 institutions.
15:45You think if they knew that mom was struggling and needed some help, and how cool would it be if they could show up at her front doorstep with a plate of lasagna to say, I heard you were going through some tough times.
15:54We got you.
15:56We can do that in the state of Florida, because we've created the connections.
16:00This isn't about creating a program.
16:02It's about a philosophy.
16:05How does government operate?
16:07How do we truly help somebody out of a culture of dependency on a pathway to economic self-sufficiency, hope, and at the end of the day, happiness?
16:16If we as government have the opportunity to be able to provide happiness for somebody, we have an obligation, if they want to take that path, to do everything we can to support them.
16:25And I'm talking about a single mom because I have somebody in the back of my mind.
16:29Her name is Ginger.
16:30And you can go on X and you can see her story, and it's incredible.
16:34Because when you know what she was going through, she was sitting in her car.
16:38She didn't have a high school diploma.
16:40She didn't know what she was going to do.
16:42She was working in a pool store.
16:43She was selling pool chemicals.
16:45She had two kids.
16:46And she was lost.
16:48We called her, and we said exactly what I told you before.
16:52We said, hey, Ginger, where do you see yourself in five years?
16:55And she said, nobody asked me that question.
16:58Nobody took an interest in that way to give me hope.
17:01And we went down a path.
17:03And you know what that path included?
17:05A nonprofit that she didn't know was there that helped her with her utilities and helped her with her rent.
17:10And then we went from there.
17:12Workforce, educational opportunities through our colleges, vocational, all of this stuff.
17:17There are 600,000 jobs available in the state of Florida right now.
17:21There are programs, thanks to the governor, that provide the ability to get the skills to get those jobs.
17:29But it's all siloed.
17:31I go back to that single mom who's sitting at the table.
17:33Is she supposed to go to Google and figure all this out?
17:35Like, how do I go?
17:37We do it for her.
17:38We provide the path.
17:39Yeah, you want to be able to do this?
17:41This is your goal to be a medical technician, which was her goal, Ginger.
17:44Said, we're going to help you map that out.
17:46And we did.
17:47We showed her how to get the skills.
17:48We made the connection.
17:49We helped guide her through the process.
17:51Now she's a licensed medical professional, and she's a specialist.
17:54And when she tells her story, she'll do it with tears in her eyes.
17:57Not only because she knew she had it within her to live up to her God-given potential,
18:01but she looks to her kids, and she showed her children that the American Dream is real.
18:06Because it's always been there.
18:08Government, because of the 1960s, is now uniquely positioned because people who are in need come into government.
18:15So what do we do when they're there?
18:17It's not case management.
18:18It's utilizing the resources exterior of government to provide those connections.
18:23And to help people know that you can succeed in this country.
18:27You can do it.
18:28We're just going to help you along the way.
18:30And for Ginger, because we called her, or if you want to call one number and talk to somebody, we're going to help you map it out.
18:37It is so hard to be able to figure out where to go, because it's all siloed.
18:44Do I go to this nonprofit, and what do I say to them?
18:47Do I go to this faith-based community, and will they even laugh at me if I walk in the front door?
18:52Clearly, they wouldn't, but do I ask them for meals?
18:54Do I do this?
18:55Where do I turn?
18:56What we're doing is empowering the communities, what they have always been there to do.
19:01But somewhere along the way, they got separated.
19:04And now Hope Florida is a model, not only for the state of Florida, not only provides hope for Floridians.
19:11It is a model for this nation.
19:13It's a model for other states who, he said, make a pilgrimage coming down here to Florida to see how can we legitimately help people in need?
19:20How can we make a difference in their lives?
19:22So I would say this program, it's not about me, it's not about the governor, it's about hope.
19:27Because we're in the position to really legitimately help people succeed.
19:31And so you'll see us continue to double down on this, because it's a righteous, worthy, good thing to do to help somebody who's struggling.
19:37And anybody out there who doesn't know where to go, doesn't know where to turn, you're afraid, you're scared, you're sitting there and you feel like you're alone,
19:45call 833-GET-HOPE, and you'll be able to find a pathway to be able to get ultimately up to your God-given potential and ultimately to be happy.
19:53And so with that, I'll turn it back over to the governor.
20:04First off, I would like to thank the governor and the House and the Cabinet for years of support for law enforcement.
20:11With them, with their help, we've been able to keep Florida a law and order state.
20:15And we thank you very much for that, sir.
20:19Again, I'd like to thank First Lady DeSantis on inviting the sheriffs to attend the event here at the Sheriff's Day at the Capitol.
20:25As president of the Florida Sheriffs Association, it's an honor to lead these great men and women you see here behind me.
20:31In recent years, HOPE Florida program has worked to help so many in need.
20:35And it is great to announce that today, we now have a specific point of contact in all 67 sheriff's offices that can work with HOPE program navigators to assist those in need.
20:47It's about communities helping communities.
20:50As you heard, faith-based, nonprofits, businesses, individuals, civic associations.
20:56And we as sheriffs in our communities, we know a lot of these different organizations.
21:02We work with them day in and day out, and we can help connect these dots even more.
21:08And this all came about, of course, by women.
21:13We just recently had our first women law enforcement leaders a few weeks ago here at the Florida Sheriffs Association.
21:20And the First Lady came and attended and spoke to 41 women leaders from the sheriff's offices from around the state.
21:28And she spoke about the HOPE program.
21:31It was from her discussion and a question from attendees about how they can learn more and work better with the HOPE program that First Lady came up with the idea of having a specific point of contact in each one of our sheriff's offices.
21:45We were more than happy to assist, and today, we now have a strong connection with our sheriff's offices and the HOPE program.
21:52As you can imagine, sheriffs have a pretty busy schedule.
21:56And from time to time, issues arise that our staff need to be able to resolve very quickly.
22:01We are so pleased that we now find and identify even more ways to help families or individuals in need, and we don't need to grow the size of government.
22:11We can do it better with resource allocation and doing what we are announcing today, stronger partnerships between the state and local governments.
22:20Because you know, today, law enforcement is very little of what we do.
22:26We're dealing with mental health.
22:28We're dealing with substance use.
22:31We're social workers.
22:32We're counselors.
22:34And this is going to be another tool in our toolbox to help Floridians statewide.
22:40So thank you, Governor, as well as First Lady, in taking the lead on this critical issue.
22:45Thank you, everybody, and God bless.
22:53Well, it looks like I get to back cleanup today, so I appreciate that.
22:57Always an honor to be here with the Governor, the First Lady, Sheriff.
23:01Isn't leadership a pretty amazing thing?
23:03When you can speak to the Governor, the First Lady, and see instant results manifest this quickly, that's what leadership is about.
23:12Friends, life is a contact sport, and winning matters.
23:15And we do that in Florida.
23:17Your moral compass, what drives you, what matters to you as a state and as a community matters, and that is what drives us here in Florida.
23:25I want to approach this from a little bit different perspective.
23:28Now, many of you know me as a military guy, but I also grew up on commodity cheese and on the welfare program, on the wrong side of the tracks.
23:37And I will tell you, it's a pretty hopeless place.
23:39It's hard pulling yourself, clawing yourself out of a space where nobody else from your family has gone before.
23:46I can tell you, you feel trapped.
23:48You don't know what you don't know.
23:50Getting information from the right people to you to solve a problem can change everything.
23:57I am here because people invested in me and taught me how to fish.
24:02I heard a wise man say that once, right?
24:04And I think that is what we need to keep focusing on when it comes to Hope Florida.
24:08You know, for those states that think that God is a part of the problem, I will tell you, God is not the problem.
24:13God is the solution to the problem, and we have to have that more.
24:17And connecting people to our religion and connecting people to our community leaders in the church is how we solve that problem.
24:24Where the rubber meets the road is where Hope Florida does the most good.
24:29People don't know what they don't know.
24:31Our men and women in law enforcement do so much across our community, day in and day out.
24:36They are true community heroes.
24:38And from a budgetary standpoint, I can promise you, I fundamentally believe you deserve everything you need.
24:43The time, tools, training necessary to complete your mission, but ultimately complete your mission and go home to your families.
24:49Because what you're raising is the next generation of Floridians and Americans, and that matters.
24:54But what Hope Florida is, is just that.
24:57I love things that have the key word in the title.
25:00It is hope.
25:01Everybody deserves to be the best version of themselves, and I don't know about you, but I do not believe government is the solution to the problem.
25:08We need to marshal resources through Hope Florida, change the welfare system, and provide opportunity to those people who may not see it any other way.
25:16And I applaud the First Lady and the Governor for their leadership on this, and I'm incredibly grateful for everyone's support across the state.
25:22But to close this thing out, imagine where we're going to go as this thing continues to pick up steam and move forward.
25:29When we do that, we change welfare, we change our state, and we can change our nation.
25:34Thank you, and God bless you.
25:41And I think the possibilities of this are not even limited to other states copying.
25:46Both the First Lady and I have briefed both the President and Elon Musk about, one, this is a way to produce better outcomes.
25:54But you could save a lot of money, too, when you're looking at how some of these federal programs operate, particularly in the veteran space.
26:01I mean, Jay can tell you, we've got some unbelievable veterans organizations.
26:05And across the gamut, we know we have a problem.
26:08We've had a lot for many, many years on mental health for veterans.
26:12Honestly, some of these private groups, charitable groups, do better than the VA on that.
26:17Wouldn't it be great if someone shows up to the VA?
26:20Instead of getting ground down in a bureaucracy, you have a Hope-like portal there.
26:24And I'm sure Elon can build a much better one than we can.
26:27That you would be able to link these vets, like in the Tampa Bay Area, all these different charities that are there.
26:34Businesses get invested in helping veterans.
26:37So I think this is something that you could definitely see really work well in certain aspects of the federal government.
26:43Then what you have is you have less pressure on the VA.
26:46There's probably going to end up being less money spent.
26:49But the veterans have much better outcomes if you're able to do it.
26:53I remember we really spearheaded in Florida with some of our groups, like Canines for Warriors, the whole service dog for veterans with post-traumatic stress.
27:00VA at the time, they wouldn't recognize that.
27:03They're doing drugs.
27:04They're just constantly prescribing drugs.
27:06And that does not work for many of the veterans.
27:09Now they've been more amenable to seeing this because it does have a track record of success.
27:14But we've got these service dog groups here.
27:17You don't even need to go with some of the drugs if you have some of these other options.
27:22So I hope that this is something.
27:24I know they're phase one on the doge, is really hoping to just cut the budget and cut the money.
27:29And, obviously, the federal government needs to do that.
27:31But I think you can operate some of these areas using this model that will save money and produce much better outcomes.
27:40I would also just like to say this is not something that's happened in recent years or that's happened in the past.
27:46But we do have the Florida Gators in the final four, and that's going to be a big deal for this weekend.
27:51Maybe not for a lot of people in this room who probably are more for it.
27:54But, look, we deal with it at home.
27:56We've got three young kids, and they basically spent their formative years.
28:01Actually, our youngest daughter wasn't even born until I was governor.
28:05And so they have, not through our direction because I don't have a dog to fight, but they have gravitated toward the Knolls.
28:11So they're big Knolls.
28:13Which is, well, the thing is it's five minutes from our house.
28:19So you go watch the baseball, watch all this stuff.
28:23And I can tell you, I mean, you know, my son was probably the only Florida State fan in the country that was, like, super excited that in November,
28:32even though they only had one win of the season, that they were playing Charleston Southern or whoever.
28:37He was, like, really hopped up.
28:38I'm, like, a lot of these others aren't.
28:39But what's happened is they have taken that, which is fine, and we just said we're going to expose them to other things.
28:46So we actually went to the Florida-Miami game at the Swamp.
28:49We're, like, want the kids to see the Swamp, whatever.
28:51Mason even wore a Tebow jersey.
28:54Then after the game, it's, like, what do you think, buddy?
28:57I'm a Knoll.
28:58It's, like, that's how he is.
28:59So he's, like, very, they're all three, the girls and him, they're anti, they've become true Knolls.
29:05So we're just trying to get them.
29:07Listen, you guys are Floridians.
29:09You should be rooting for Florida, especially if they play Duke in the national championship.
29:15You can't root for Duke.
29:17So we'll see what happens.
29:18We're working that.
29:19It's sensitive.
29:20But I do wish the Gators well.
29:22They've had a remarkable run thus far.
29:25The SEC, I mean, you know, the SEC was down in football relative to what they've been doing recently.
29:30But in basketball, that was a pretty impressive run.
29:32So good luck to the Gators, and hopefully they'll bring back a national championship for the state of Florida.
29:38Okay, do we have any questions out there?
29:40Yes.
29:41I have a little story about the ancient tiles.
29:47Say it again.
30:01Oh, I mean, look, those are so overwhelmingly Republican districts that I think it's physically impossible for someone,
30:09as long as you put an R by your name, to not win.
30:11Now, look, I mean, Jimmy's a friend of mine.
30:13I mean, I know he's going to do people like him.
30:15He's going to do really well.
30:16You know, some of these others may, may, may not as well.
30:19The point I've just made, though, in CD6 is what the political media is going to do if there's an underperformance.
30:26I don't think there can be a loss.
30:27But if there's an underperformance, which a lot of people are predicting, I think Trump won it by 30.
30:31I think I won it by like 35 or something or 37.
30:35If there's an underperformance, they're going to say, see, it shows the voters are rejecting.
30:40It has nothing to do with that.
30:42This is a rejection of the specific candidate amongst some voters who either choose not to vote, maybe even vote third party.
30:48I don't know how many Republicans would actually cross over and vote for a lunatic Democrat.
30:52But I do think that it's just added to the mix of issues.
30:57But I think it's almost all local.
30:59Remember, he's not from that district.
31:01He looks like 150 miles away.
31:04And it's just different.
31:05So I would just caution people, regardless of the performance, if there is an underperformance, and maybe there won't be.
31:12Who knows?
31:13But if there is, I think it's wrong.
31:16I mean, you can quibble with Trump endorsing or not.
31:18But that's a separate question from why are the voters reacting the way they do if there's an underperformance.
31:24And I think it's going to be more of a local reason.
31:26I think it's going to be more of a candidate-specific reason.
31:28I don't think if there's an underperformance that that's a referendum on the president.
31:32I think the president was on the ballot.
31:33I think he would win by 30 again.
31:39So, first of all, we're not going to let you try to smear a good program with this stuff on these things.
31:46I know the House is feeding you guys stuff.
31:49We weren't born yesterday.
31:51We understand what they're trying to do.
31:53They're trying to kind of sully this.
31:55This is the nonprofit arm.
31:56It's a charitable arm.
31:57They're going to take care of the paperwork.
32:00But while you're worried about filing paperwork, we're worried about lifting Floridians up.
32:05We're worried about getting people on the path to self-sufficiency.
32:09We're worried about changing lives.
32:11We're not worried about trying to play phony gotcha games.
32:15So go back to the House leadership office.
32:17Talk to their staff.
32:19Let them feed you some more BS.
32:21Try to recycle it.
32:23But nobody trusts you anymore.
32:25You don't have any credibility because you're always peddling the same BS.
32:49I don't think on the tourism.
32:51We heard so when the president was tussling a little bit with Canada.
32:55There was a whole thing about, oh, the Canadians are going to boycott the state of Florida.
32:59Well, I can tell you this.
33:01Casey and I had our kids at Legoland in Polk County a couple weeks ago.
33:05And I'm getting stopped every ten steps to take pictures.
33:08And 80% of the people were from Canada.
33:11So the Canadians are coming.
33:13We're going to continue to be a tourist hotspot.
33:16What I've heard from businesses is, you know, there's some areas of Florida that are welcoming some of the stuff on Mexico.
33:22Because they felt they got left out of USMCA, some of our agriculture interests.
33:28You know, we also have ports and a lot of other stuff.
33:31So I think that there's kind of a mix about how people are responding.
33:34But I think once they know the rules of the road, I think that they'll adjust accordingly.
33:38But I am not worried about tourism.
33:40In fact, you know, I'm seeing some of these Canadians.
33:42I thought you guys weren't coming here anymore.
33:44Oh, no, no, no.
33:45We're coming to Florida.
33:46Trust me.
33:47As someone that grew up in Dunedin, the home, spring training home of the Toronto Blue Jays.
33:51I mean, once February came, it was like half the license plates were Ontario license plates.
33:55So I think we're going to do really well with tourism.
33:58And so we'll see kind of the national stuff, how that shakes out.
34:03But on tourism, I feel good that we're going to be strong.
34:05We had 142 million visitors that came to the state of Florida last year.
34:11That's an incredible number.
34:13I mean, I remember I was speaking to the Restaurant and Lodging Association.
34:17For like a decade, they were stuck at like 80, 85 million visitors.
34:21And that was kind of the norm.
34:23And then really, I think since COVID, we broke, shattered the records.
34:27And then as people fled to Florida during that, they're like, hey, we like it here.
34:31So they come more and more.
34:32So we've got a great stream of folks.
34:34We do have a lot of international visitors.
34:36But it does raise an issue about kind of, you know, we're having, I mean, I'd like to see some property tax relief.
34:42You know, there's some faction in the legislature that says, oh, no, no, do the sales tax.
34:46The reality is, you know, the tourists pay a pretty good chunk of the sales tax for us.
34:51I don't want to reduce taxes on Canadian or Brazilian tourists.
34:55I'd rather them pay more and us pay less as Florida residents.
34:59And so we have the luxury of having a state tax system that can leverage the fact that we're a desirable location to further relieve burdens on Floridians.
35:10And if you think about the property tax situation, people's assessments are going up.
35:15So they're not raising the millage rate, but they are assessing your property higher and higher.
35:20The whole homestead is not enough to keep up with that.
35:24I mean, you still pay more.
35:26But then, heaven forbid, you've got to sell your home and move somewhere else.
35:29Then the basis is much higher.
35:31So people are getting pinched with that.
35:33We have an opportunity to do some relief this year.
35:35But more importantly, the 2026 ballot, we are going to have an opportunity to provide constitutional protection for homeowners.
35:43And this is something that would make this state boom like never before.
35:48It would be a lifeline to so many folks who are having to fork over that check, you know, for property taxes.
35:55And, you know, the thing of it philosophically is do you own your home or not, right?
35:59I mean, like if I buy a big screen TV, I put it on my wall.
36:02Yeah, I've got to pay sales tax.
36:04I put it on my wall.
36:05I don't have to keep writing a check to the government, and then they can come seize it if I don't do that.
36:10But that's kind of where we are as a society on the property taxes.
36:14You buy land.
36:15You buy a home.
36:16Even if it's free and clear of any encumbrances, you paid the mortgage, everything, at what point is it actually yours?
36:22And when you have these assessments coming in, they're basically saying, no, you know, it's kind of yours as long as you pay your rent to the government.
36:30And that's not, I think, what people want in the free state of Florida.
36:33So there's going to be a huge discussion about that.
36:35I'm looking forward to engaging in that.
36:38I know we've had some great conversations, particularly with folks in the Florida Senate.
36:42And I think it's really, really good.
36:44Gary.
36:45Gary.
36:46Let me do Gary then.
36:48Go ahead.
36:59We don't believe, I understand that some people have raised it.
37:01My guys have looked at it.
37:02We will have an acting through April.
37:04We will appoint somebody in May that will be the full-time official.
37:09And I am aware of those issues, but we don't actually agree that those are ultimately.
37:14And just think about it, though.
37:15How could that possibly be?
37:17I mean, like, this is a planned resignation, right?
37:19But sometimes tragedy happens, what you would say that you have to do.
37:22No, you've got to vet people.
37:24Some people are expressing interest.
37:26We're vetting.
37:27We're making sure that these are folks that are going to have a really strong agenda when they go in.
37:31And so I've said publicly, if people are interested, let us know.
37:35If you've got the qualifications and you're going to support strong policies.
37:39But the reality is we've got to go through that process.
37:43And so we are doing that.
37:44And we will have somebody probably no later than the middle of May.
37:48Yes, one more.
37:50So I can't say specifically between both.
38:05I know we've had great discussions with Senator Burton.
38:09I do believe at least the Senate product is going to answer the concerns.
38:13And I do anticipate that we're going to have a product on hemp that I'll be able to sign into law.