The Florida Legislature will convene again in just over a week. Republicans still hold super-majorities in both chambers, and nobody should expect a radical departure from conservative lawmaking seen in the past few legislative sessions. But it will be curious this year how independent lawmakers will choose to be from the executive branch.

In the past few months, several lawmakers, though none from the Sarasota-Bradenton region, shifted political endorsements away from Gov. Ron DeSantis and to former President Donald Trump. Leaving aside whatever any specific voter thinks about either of those men, it’s an interesting development.

Most political observers in Florida assumed a massive out-of-the-gate loyalty to DeSantis among state lawmakers was as much about a defensive posture against the veto pen as it was about any particular love of the Governor. Anyone who needs evidence such fears were based in reality needs to look only at the number of member projects sponsored by Trump-supporting state Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, that DeSantis slashed from the budget.

I’ve heard folks loyal to both Republican presidential contenders that the visceral fear of retribution has started to fade along with DeSantis’ presidential ambitions. If DeSantis’ star sets completely after the Iowa caucuses, anticipate a Legislature that decides it can lead far more independently than it did in 2023. Then DeSantis entered session months after a landslide re-election and pushed the Legislature to effectively craft his presidential policy platform in the form of state law.

But in what way will the Legislature act that’s different than in the past? It’s still an overwhelmingly conservative body, so nobody should expect a new embrace of gun control or abortion access. But an interesting study released this month by The Institute of Legislative Analysis helped highlight the various ways political leaders define conservatism, and showed how the Legislature has upheld such principles and where it has fallen far short.

The conservative think tank graded the nation’s state legislatures and governors this year and gave Florida high marks on protecting individual liberties, while suggesting the Sunshine State struggled on deregulation and free market principles. 

On DeSantis in particular, the organization gave the governor a 100% on local and national security for being tougher on crime than the Legislature wanted, but gave him just a 33% on tax and fiscal policy, lower than the Legislature’s 42%. Both the legislative and executive branch scored only about a 50% on regulations. Remember, this is a right-wing group, so don’t think this makes Florida Republicans out as secret leftists. But it’s a reminder that the governor’s war on Disney and heavy hand on agriculture don’t play that well with free marketeers on the national stage.

But of note, certain Florida lawmakers earned high marks for their own legislative records as graded by the group. The Institute honored 47 state officials with “Defender of Limited Government” awards for scoring about 80% or higher on the report card. State Reps. Tommy Gregory, R-Lakewood Ranch (79.6%), and Will Robinson, R-Bradenton (80.6%), both made that list, as did state Rep. Michael Grant, R-Port Charlotte (79.6%).

State Rep. Mike Beltran, R-Riverview (79.4%), nearly made the cut. No lawmakers living or chiefly representing Sarasota County did. State Rep. James Buchanan, R-Venice (75.6%) came in short. State Rep. Fiona McFarland, R-Sarasota, was notably on maternity leave much of the 2023 session and had too few graded votes to be issued a score.

Members of the Florida Senate fared worse, with state Sen. Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, earning shy of 74%, and state Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, pulling in just a 71.9%.

Now, various things weigh down scores. Support for environmental regulations is critical to this coastal community, and local lawmakers will likely happily take a hit in scores with a national group to protect communities in ways voters rightly demand. But the scorecards show there’s solid, ideological arguments for breaking free this year of DeSantis’ policy stranglehold.

Moving away from economic policies driven primarily by retribution instead of the public good would be a good start.

Jacob Ogles is contributing senior editor for SRQ MEDIA.