With the primary elections right around the corner, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis echoed a call for a special session by one of the candidates running to replace him.

That candidate — former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner — took to X on Friday to call on state lawmakers to come together for another special session to once again consider a couple of legislative proposals that were championed by DeSantis.

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“I’m calling on the Legislature to return for a special session and get two major priorities across the finish line: health freedom and an AI Bill of Rights,” he wrote. “The Senate has acted. Governor DeSantis supports it. It’s time for the House to get it done.”

In fact, Renner’s campaign website states that if elected governor, he will call a special session “on Day 1″ to get lawmakers to reconsider the proposals.

The FL House needs to take a mulligan and get right with the voters. https://t.co/mtVzT6yplW

— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) August 14, 2026

WHAT ARE THESE PROPOSALS?

Medical Freedom

Earlier this year, the Florida Senate approved a “medical freedom” bill that was backed by DeSantis, which would have made the following changes to state law:

• School Rules: Exempts children from immunization requirements in K-12 schools if the vaccine conflicts with their parents’ conscience (similar to the existing religious exemption)
• Vaccines on Kids: Before a vaccine can be administered to a child, the health care practitioner must provide the child’s parent with the appropriate CDC information statement
• Ivermectin Prescriptions: Allows pharmacists to provide ivermectin as a behind-the-counter medication with a prescription to adults, along with instructions on proper use
• Criminal Immunity: Grants immunity from civil/criminal liability or disciplinary action under state law to health care practitioners who properly prescribe or administer ivermectin to an adult patient

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Despite passing the Senate, the bill ultimately died after failing to get approval in the House.

A.I. Bill of Rights

Another proposal would have implemented an “Artificial Intelligence Bill of Rights,” which would have done the following:

• Contract Prohibitions: Prohibits government entities from contracting for AI tech or products unless certain requirements are met
• Chatbot Permissions: Requires consent for minors to create new chatbots or maintain existing ones
• Data Rights: Provides the right for users to know if AI tech companies are collecting personal info or biometric data
• Personal Information: Prohibits AI tech companies from selling or disclosing personal info
• Commercial Usage: Prohibits the commercial use of someone’s name, image or likeness created through AI without consent, and more

Like the medical freedom bill, this legislation also passed the Senate, though it failed to make it through the House this year.

[RELATED: Florida governor calls for artificial-intelligence bill of rights]

While DeSantis hasn’t explicitly endorsed any of the gubernatorial candidates running this year, he did say during a news conference this month that Renner would make for a “really good” governor.

Renner spoke with News 6 late last year after initially announcing his bid for Florida governor, though he notably lacked DeSantis’ endorsement.

In fact, DeSantis said at the time that he wasn’t supporting Renner, calling it an “ill-advised decision to enter the race.”

“When he ran, I said I didn’t advise him to run. It wasn’t because I didn’t think he’d be a good governor,” DeSantis explained on Thursday. “I think he’d be really good. He’s got a great record of policy, but… what’s your strategy to get known? How do you get known to people, right?”

[RELATED: 6 issues with Florida candidate for governor Paul Renner]

His explanation tied to a larger theme of how effective gubernatorial candidates may have a difficult time getting recognition.

“Being governor is different than winning governor,” he stated. “And honestly, what goes into winning it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be a good governor. Because a lot of it is recognition, and the way to get recognition in a really big state is you either have to pay for it by buying advertising or you have to generate a lot of free media, which is hard in a state this big.”

Renner is only one of several Republican candidates running in the Florida governor’s race this year. You can find a list of these candidates and their positions here.

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