DeSantis vetoes bill that would’ve forced state to purchase more ‘renewable’ vehicles

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FLV) – Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed a bill that would have revised the criteria for state agencies, state universities and other state institutions for purchasing or leasing vehicles.

SB 284, titled “Energy,” would have reduced state-purchased or leased vehicles relying on ethanol alone for fuel.

It would have removed existing requirements that Florida agencies use ethanol and biodiesel-based vehicles when available.

The bill kept exemptions for those requirements for emergency vehicles.

The law, sponsored by Sen. Jason Brodeur, R-Lake Mary, would also have expanded the definition of a “single-trade inspection” for building code inspections to involve examining the installation of electric vehicle charging stations, solar energy and energy storage “installations or alternations.”

In May, Brodeur told Florida’s Voice the bill makes it easier for government officials in Florida to assess the long-term expenses associated with vehicle ownership before making any decisions regarding procurement.

“All vehicles, whether they run on liquefied natural gas, biodiesel, electricity, fossil fuels, what have you, all can be put on the same level playing field so the state can then make a decision as to what the lowest cost of operational would be,” Brodeur said then.

The purpose of that provision was to allow the property owner to work directly with a private provider for inspections rather than relying on local government.

It would have taken effect July 1.

DeSantis has been frequently critical of climate activists, who typically argue for less reliance on traditionally ethanol-gas fueled vehicles.

“[They use climate change] to regulate and control everything people do, and we reject that in the state of Florida. They claim climate change for gas stoves – they claim all this stuff,” he said.

“Notice how they don’t like gas, natural gas, they don’t like oil – they say it all should be windmills and solar panels. But what’s the cleanest of all? Nuclear. They almost all opposed nuclear. So they use that to control. So what we don’t do in Florida is embrace things to try to control people,” DeSantis said.

“Take away gas stoves, take away this, all that other stuff? That’s not gonna happen in the state of Florida, and I do think that’s really what they use more than anything else to try to justify exerting control over people in this country, and we’re not gonna let that happen.”

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include a statement by Brodeur.