Nick DiCeglie: Florida will show what ‘conservative policy is all about’

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FLV) – Sen. Nick DiCeglie, R-St. Petersburg, said he believes Republicans have a strong advantage to utilize Gov. Ron DeSantis’ plans for an “aggressive agenda” working in conjunction with leaders of both the House and the Senate.

Florida’s Voice Founder and CEO Brendon Leslie spoke with Sen. Nick DiCeglie, R-St. Petersburg, on his goals and hopes for the 2023 Legislative Session.

DiCeglie represents around 550,000 people in Pinellas County. He won his 2022 race by double digits.

“We’ve got, you know, both presiding officers [Paul Renner and Kathleen Passidomo] are clearly working well together on the same page and, and then you’re throwing in the governor and his aggressive agenda on what we’re doing as far as policy – I think we’ve got an opportunity,” he said.

On Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, DiCeglie said her agenda is to encourage senators to do “what they feel is right.”

“Her heart is in the right place,” he said. “She has weathered [Hurricane Ian] in an incredible way.”

Passidomo recently unveiled legislation to further improve Florida’s disaster response.

On his priorities, DiCeglie said Florida’s lawmakers need to bolster transportation and infrastructure initiatives as the state grows.

The senator is chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee.

“And I know certainly as someone who moved here many, many moons ago from New York, I don’t want Florida to turn into, into what those states look like, especially when it comes to our traffic and infrastructure,” he said.

DiCeglie said he aims to enact permitting reforms, making it easier for businesses to get approved for permits.

“It seems like the bureuacracy […] They throw reason after reason after reason to say no, or to delaying the permitting process,” he said. “So I’m always going to be a champion for the small business owner.”

“And, you know, throwing the big, maybe not too sexy, transportation public policy, but it is an incredibly important public policy area in the state.”

Speaking about the chemical disaster in Ohio and asked about U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, DiCeglie said “some folks just cannot lead.”

“Obviously, you know, him being a mayor of a really small, tiny town [where he had to] deal with potholes – it’s entirely different when you have to deal with […] a chemical disaster, and the logistics of that,” he said. “I don’t even think the president has gone to visit that scene, and to me, that’s a disgrace.”

Asked about the “biggest with for the conservative agenda” out of the 2023 session, DiCeglie pointed to culture war victories, law enforcement funding, keeping taxes low, remaining pro-business and bolstering education.

“We’re gonna be able to give law enforcement additional raises, we’re gonna be able to give teachers additional raises, the bonuses for […] law enforcement who want to move here from these other states where they’re not appreciated,” he said. “We want to fund the police, as we should.”

“I think that we’re going to continue to fight, we’re a state that is primed and ready to show what conservative policy is all about [and] how that translates to how that improves the quality of life for our residents,” he said.

“We’ve got a governor that has a robust agenda and I think that, you know, every time we turn around, there’s something more than we need to do.”