DeSantis: 'I Don't Support' Requiring Bloggers To Register With Government

Florida state Senator Jason Brodeur recently launched the Information Dissemination Bill that would require any paid blogger writing about legislation be registered with the "appropriate office," such as the Office of Legislative Service of the Commission on Ethics.

Here comes the kicker... the bill would NOT apply to members of the mainstream media. It provides:

Upon registering with the appropriate office, a blogger must file monthly reports on the 10th day following the end of each calendar month from the time a blog post is added to the blog, except that, if the 10th day following the end of a calendar month occurs on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the report must be filed on the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. If the blogger does not have a blog post on a blog during a given month, the monthly report for that month does not need to be filed.

If the compensation is for a series of blog posts or for a defined period of time, the blogger must disclose the total amount to be received upon the first blog post being published. Thereafter, the blogger must disclose the date or dates additional compensation is received, if any, for the series of blog posts.

Failure to report could result in fines up to $2,500 per offense.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has already come out to say he does NOT support the idea, explaining:

It’s like, you know, every person in the legislature can file bills, right? I see these people filing bills and then there’s articles with my face on the article saying that ‘Oh, they’re gonna have to — bloggers are gonna have to register for the state’ and it’s like attributing it to me. And I’m like, okay, that’s not anything that I’ve ever supported. I don’t support, I’ve been very clear about what we’re doing and so people have a right to file legislation. They have a right to do different types of amendments and all that other stuff, but members of the legislature have independent agency to be able to do things. I don’t control every single bill that has been filed.