Florida Governor Ron DeSantis officially vetoed two pieces of legislation passed during the 128th Session of the Florida Legislature. In separate veto letters filed with Secretary of State Cord Byrd, DeSantis rejected Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 688, which targeted the regulation of naturopathic medicine, and Committee Substitute for House Bill 325, which sought to establish a commercial truck-driving program for state prison inmates.
Both vetoes were stamped and finalized by the Department of State.
The first veto struck down SB 688, a bill that would have required the Department of Health to create a new Board of Naturopathic Medicine. Under the proposed law, individuals would have to secure a license from an out-of-state accredited institution and pay licensure fees to practice naturopathic medicine in Florida.
In his objection letter, DeSantis noted that current Florida law already allows various licensed professionals—including medical doctors, osteopathic physicians, acupuncturists, and dietitians—to utilize naturopathic methods and recommend natural remedies.
He pointed out that because natural treatments do not require prescriptions or U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval, Florida citizens already maintain open access to them.
DeSantis stated that the legislation would “negatively impact Floridians who currently work in alternative medicine by mandating post-graduate education that cannot be obtained in Florida and require them to pay costly licensure fees to do the work they are already performing.”
He added that “there is no need to create additional bureaucratic hurdles,” asserting that the state would instead continue to focus on initiatives like Healthy Florida First to protect medical freedom without introducing excessive regulations.
The second veto targeted HB 325, an inmate workforce development bill. The legislation sought to mandate that state correctional facilities provide training programs for individuals to earn Class A and Class B commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs).
The bill would have permitted inmates to drive state-owned vehicles outside of prison fencing to fulfill their training requirements and prove their driving proficiency, provided they were under the direct supervision of a correctional officer.
While acknowledging the state’s goals to bolster the trucking industry and improve workforce development, DeSantis raised immediate concerns regarding security and resources. He described the proposed commercial driving program as “unnecessarily burdensome to the Department of Corrections staff and its facilities.”
Furthermore, the governor raised the issue of motorists’ security, writing that the bill “creates significant public safety concerns by authorizing incarcerated individuals to operate commercial vehicles in public thoroughfares.” DeSantis concluded that the underlying workforce and transportation goals “can be achieved through the existing oversight of both the Department of Corrections and Department of Transportation, that do not put our roads at risk.”
READ: Free By ‘Autopen’: Convicted Trafficker Re-Arrested In Florida On 12 Drug, Weapon Charges
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