Speaker-designate Perez praises ‘righteous’ DeSantis effort to cut government jobs

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – House Speaker Designate Daniel Perez, R-Miami, discussed his goals as the legislature’s future speaker as well as his approach to the 2024 Legislative Session during an interview on Florida’s Voice with Brendon Leslie.

Perez was asked if cutting 1,000 state jobs and rearranging the funds was possible in the 2024 budget. Gov. Ron DeSantis suggested the notion in his budget proposal.

“Anything’s possible,” Perez said. “It’s just a matter of how you go about it. I think it was his goal, and I don’t want to speak on his behalf, but I think his goal was a righteous one.”

“It’s making sure that the red tape is taken off and that unnecessary government is taken away from the eyesight of people so that it’s easier for people to function about the state,” he added.

“We have bureaucracy in every piece of government and every form of government that exists, and everyone acknowledges that,” Perez said. “So how can we do our part to take away as much of that bureaucracy as possible?”

He added that the fiscal benefits of cutting bureaucracy was also a significant factor in seeking the goal to shrink the size of government.

He boasted that Florida is a “very financially sound state” with “record numbers” in budget surplus.

“Our budgets, if you look back over the last several years, more often than not, are voted on in a bipartisan manner,” he said. “This isn’t a one sided budget, but even then, it is still fiscally conservative.”

He added that his goal in the next budget is to find how Floridians can keep more of their “hard-earned tax dollars in their pockets” instead of giving it to the government.

“I think that the speakers before me, especially the ones that I’ve served under, have done such a good job of putting Florida in the place it is today that all we have to do at this point is sustain it, but also build,” Perez said. “But the foundation is as sturdy as ever.”

He explained how issues such as school choice were not addressed within one session, but they took decades to work through.

Perez was designated as the next Republican speaker of the House in September and is set to assume the role in November 2024, holding the position through the 2026 Legislative Session.

He said he plans to build and improve K-12 education, employment retention and property insurance reform as speaker.

“We’re going to look at property insurance and the successes of our last session in the property insurance reform,” he said. “I’m interested in seeing how positive has that needle changed in our direction.”

Perez added that one of his greatest concerns was “not losing the talent” that Florida has in the employment market. He explained that that includes investing into young adults through education.