Talahassee – The respect from Florida senators, created in honor of longtime Tampa Bay politician Senator Daryl Luson, has transformed into a fight with the Florida home.
“We’ll do that right,” said Senator Ed Hooper, Senate spending chair. “Or if not.”
Luson, a Democrat who must take office for the 2026 period limit, is open about his struggle with substance use disorder and his long-standing recovery.
This year, Luson introduced a bill that implements several proposals from the Florida Committee on Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders that he serves.
His bill also proposed to create a center at the University of South Florida to study the association between substance use disorders and mental health issues. The Senate proposed allocating $5 million to the center’s job, and the state senator paid tribute to Luson with a proposal to name him.
They all sympathized with the amendment to name the center after Rouson, and many gave speeches praised Rouson for his advocacy and his long career.
But when the Senate sent the words, the House stripped the Daryl E. Luson Center from the bill.
The language that creates the center is not a House law, and D-Parkland MP Christine Hunschofsky told lawmakers it was “not one of the recommendations” from the committee. Hunschofsky is also on a committee with Rouson.
The House’s decision sparked an unusual, passionate display from lawmakers on the Senate floor. Some senators appeared to be crying.
“That’s not right, it’s not fair, it’s not appropriate and it’s really unacceptable,” said Sen. R-Bradenton, a House proposal.
Hunschofsky did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but posted on social media, “Just because people say something passionately and loudly, doesn’t mean it’s true.”
Luson thought it was important to create the center while being exposed to the senator’s gestures, but said “it’s more important that the work continues.” He moved to accept the House proposal.
However, after several lawmakers suggested they didn’t think house language would be acceptable, the senators delayed the vote, leaving them with issues that only remained in the session for two days.
Senators’ complaints about the House proposal appear to have flowed beyond Luson’s specific bill. Hooper has raised ongoing negotiations between the House and Senate over the budget, but this will not be completed in time.
“This is what we’re dealing with,” Hooper said.
“In a year and a half, I’m really pleased to have another speaker after you who will help naming the program.”
House Speaker Daniel Perez has been working with the senators to please and honor Luson, but said their idea was “creating a backdoor budget project.”
“But today’s Senate actions are pointless as a way to name the center after Senator Luson and emotionally threaten the home to do what they want,” Perez said. “The “or other” comments were a threat to the Florida home and were under the dignity of the Florida Senate. ”
Perez said senators should direct their room their legitimate anger, creating a “backdoor” project in their room and “we will do so using the Senator’s legacy.”
Senate President Ben Albritton was diplomatic about his relationship with the Senate and the House, despite Perez being more vocal about his spending plans.
Albritton also largely declined to comment on the home’s actions under Perez this year. The House of Representatives criticized the Ron DeSantis administration’s spending, grilled the head of the executive agency and investigated one of his wife’s important initiatives, Hope Florida.
But the Luson Center turmoil shows that Senate-House relations could be in more unstable land than the leaders allowed.
After weeks of criticising the house, DeSantis took her to social media and got into a room fight at the Luson Center, calling it “the glorious home of Pettinez’s house in Florida.”
First Lady Casey DeSantis and Attorney General James Usmiere commented in praise of Luson as DeSantis’ close ally, who was also targeted by lawmakers, for his role at the Florida Foundation.
It is unclear what will happen as the bill moves forward. If the House and Senate refuse to agree to the language around the Center, other proposals for the bill would also die that year.
