Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) promotes new legislation he says will maintain the "Free State of Florida."
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00:00Well, thanks so much.
00:04Great to be back in South Florida.
00:07Great to be with you here today.
00:08We've got two great pieces of legislation that we'll be talking about.
00:13I'm joined here by our Agriculture Commissioner, Wilton Simpson,
00:17our Surgeon General, Dr. Joseph LaDipo, Senator Ileana Garcia.
00:23Is this your district where we're at now?
00:24Yep. And Miami-Dade County Commissioner, Roberto Gonzalez.
00:28So I want to thank them, and they're all going to talk about some of the things that we're doing today.
00:33Now, before I get into that, one, I just wanted to publicly say,
00:39you know, we lost Rabbi Lipsker recently, and he was a good friend of ours for a long time.
00:44I know he meant a lot to people, not just in the Jewish community, but beyond in South Florida,
00:50and was a really great Floridian and a great American.
00:54So our condolences go out to them, yeah, for sure.
00:58And so that was sad news.
01:01On some good news, Florida once again rated number one economy in the country by U.S. News & World Report.
01:08And that's two years in a row.
01:14We've also been number one economy two years in a row by CNBC.
01:18We continue to be number one for higher education.
01:21I think that's eight or nine years in a row.
01:24And when I became governor, we were ranked 13th overall for whatever metrics they use.
01:30And now we're up to six overall.
01:33And there's a variety of factors that go into that.
01:34And so we're excited about that.
01:39And you know, we've got a lot of great opportunities ahead of us.
01:43If you look at where we are just in terms of, say, the budget and the fiscal in Florida,
01:50since I've been governor, we've almost quadrupled the state's rainy day fund.
01:55If you look at, if you look at the amount of surplus that we've carried, you know, used
02:04to be pretty consistent, there'd be five, six billion in reserve.
02:08And then we've gotten that up to where we're like 20, 25 even that we got it down from there
02:13because that was too much.
02:14And we've done some infrastructure tax cuts, whatever.
02:17We have really, really healthy reserves and running big surpluses.
02:20But then at the same time, paying down an accelerated rate of our state's debt.
02:26So of 180 years, if you looked at all the debt that we've accumulated as a state, just since
02:31I've been governor, we've retired 41% of that.
02:35And so and when you do that early, and you got to be strategic, you don't always do it
02:40early because it depends.
02:41But if you can do it early, we've now saved each year hundreds of millions.
02:47hundreds of dollars in interest costs that you would have had to bear as taxpayers.
02:51And so that's a great story.
02:53We're going to continue that we now have the lowest per capita debt of any state in the
02:57United States and
03:00And we have the lowest number of state government workers per capita.
03:10So you talk about lean government, lean bureaucracy.
03:14We have that for sure.
03:16But with all of that, paying down debt, surplus, lean government, we've done really big things
03:23and we've done big things for environment and natural research.
03:26You look at what we've done with Biscayne Bay, the Everglades, you look at what we've
03:29done for transportation.
03:31You know, we obviously have the junction here in South Florida that's going to end up being
03:35very helpful.
03:36This is tougher here to help with the traffic because there's not as many options to do.
03:42We've accelerated billions of dollars.
03:45We have projects we just unveiled in I-4.
03:48We've got all this stuff around I-4.
03:51That honestly sometimes is even worse than South Florida traffic, believe it or not.
03:55Horrible traffic sometimes and it can be at any time of the day.
03:58And so there's been a bunch of I-4 stuff done.
04:01We've opened stuff.
04:02It's been good, but there's more that needs to be done.
04:04There's also connecting roads and bypass roads, so we're doing all that.
04:07But we said, well, while we're accelerating that, let's do some temporary expansion of
04:12lanes.
04:13And so we did that eight months ahead of schedule and I just put out a video of that on Friday.
04:18You look at before and after massive increase in traffic flow.
04:21But, you know, that requires resources and so we've done that.
04:24We've also done education.
04:27Number one, we've never done more per pupil for K-12 education than we've done in this
04:32recent year.
04:33Our colleges, yeah.
04:40Our colleges and universities, our universities, we have not raised tuition one penny for Florida
04:45residents and so you've got about $6,300 on average to go to these universities and that's
04:54part of the reason we're number one in higher education because of affordability.
04:58So we've been able to do all of that.
05:01So that's really positive.
05:02We've got a lot of great momentum when you keep it going.
05:04But one of the reasons why we've been able to do all this stuff, one of the reasons our
05:08economy is number one, one of the reasons why we've added over 100,000 manufacturing jobs
05:13in Florida just since I've been government, the reason we have surplus paid down debt
05:17is because during COVID, we had to make a decision that people had a right to work in
05:24this state.
05:25Businesses had a right to operate and kids needed to be in school.
05:29And I know there was a lot of people down here that I had to fight with that.
05:33I remember when I said you can't find people for masks, they were finding people for not
05:38wearing masks.
05:39I overrode that with an executive order and save people a lot of money.
05:45So so we did that in the contrast between some of these these states that were, you know,
05:51I mean, look, after six or eight weeks, like you had to start to think that maybe you need
05:56to go in a different direction, certainly after three or four months and all this stuff.
05:59But nevertheless, people really persisted in this.
06:02And it was really intolerable.
06:04And then you had the BLM riots, you had a lot of things happening.
06:07And so we were able to attract a lot of folks, businesses, individuals, you name it.
06:14People would visit Florida.
06:15It was funny.
06:16I was talking to some folks in tourism about like, well, how are things going now and whatever,
06:21because you hear different things about, you know, no international travelers or that,
06:25you know, the media will try to say this or that.
06:27And I don't you know, sometimes it's like, you can have an anecdote, but what's the truth?
06:31So so I'll ask these people what's going on.
06:33And they're like, look, we're doing really well.
06:34But they're like, we will never be able to recreate 2020 to 2022.
06:39Because it was just like Florida was the place where you would go, right?
06:43I mean, I was down in the Keys recently.
06:45I remember people flooding the Keys, flooding the Panhandle, you name it.
06:48You know, they had record years.
06:51But part of the reason and that wasn't really the main reason we took the stand we did.
06:56Obviously, we wanted to do well economically, but we also and even more importantly, wanted
07:02to respect people's ability to make the most of their own lives and make the appropriate
07:07decisions for themselves.
07:08And so, you know, if you wanted your kid to go to school remote and those initial that
07:13initial school year 2020 to one, you know, we said fine, but you can't and you can't demand
07:18that all schools be closed just because you don't want.
07:21And guess what?
07:22Parents wanted their kids in school overwhelmingly.
07:25We don't think that walking down the street government has a right to tell you, you must muzzle
07:31yourself and cover your face with a piece of cloth.
07:34First of all, it's not going to do anything.
07:37But but second of all, it's not the appropriate role of government to be doing that.
07:42I remember and first of all, you've seen in South Florida, we embrace things like restaurants.
07:48Fauci hated restaurants.
07:49He thought that was like the worst thing ever.
07:51And I'm just thinking to myself, like, what about all these people whose livelihoods depend
07:55on these things?
07:56And so what's happened, like a lot of the New York restaurants moved here to South Florida.
08:01You had a big boom in that in Florida because we were very supportive of them being
08:07able to earn a living, which is something that's really, really important.
08:10We also so so that contrast was huge.
08:13That is that led to Florida really taking out.
08:17We would not be number one economy had we had we governed like New York or Illinois during
08:23those time periods.
08:24And so that was really, really important.
08:26Obviously, in education, too, it's important that the kids are in school and that will
08:31have a ripple effect for many, many decades, probably the states or some of these states
08:37lock these kids out of school for a long time.
08:40Really, really harmful.
08:41So so those were decisions.
08:43And, you know, I was using my is interesting, like you'd have these governors around the country.
08:47They'd use executive orders to basically restrict.
08:50We were using executive orders to liberate, like saying local governments can't do this.
08:55Local governments can't restrict.
08:57Local governments can't do the mass fines or any of this stuff.
09:01And that was great.
09:02But those were kind of like emergency actions.
09:04And so we worked with the legislature.
09:07And when when Wilton was Senate president, we enacted protections for people against these
09:13coercive policies.
09:14For example, no one should have to choose between a job they need and a shot that they don't
09:20want.
09:21And they were trying to fire people because of covid jabs.
09:24We didn't allow that to happen.
09:27We also were and I think it had Florida not taken this stand that this may have caught fire
09:33all across the country.
09:35In early 21, people had this idea of covid vaccine passports.
09:40So literally, if you wanted to go to a ball game or a movie theater or a restaurant, they
09:45wanted you to have to show proof of an M RNA covid jab.
09:51And so what that does is it it eliminates any informed consent because your your life is
09:56restricted based on a medical choice you made, which is really not any anyone's business.
10:02But it was also even more ironic because these M RNA shots weren't preventing you from getting
10:08covid in the first place, and it wasn't preventing you from spreading covid.
10:13You know, it was sold as if you do the shot, you'll never get covid and covid will stop.
10:18But that wasn't what actually happened.
10:20So they wanted to do vaccine passports, which really would have limited the ability of a lot
10:26of our residents just to be able to make the most of their own lives.
10:29And so we were the first state in the country to pass legislation banning the use of covid
10:36vaccine passports in our state and not just with government anything.
10:41It was just not an appropriate thing to do.
10:43So I we viewed it as a civil rights issue.
10:46We viewed it as something that we wanted everyone to be able to participate in society.
10:51And so we got that on the books.
10:53We saved jobs as a result of the employment, not allowing employment mandates.
10:58First, they were looking at government agencies like, well, obviously the state, we're not
11:02going to do it.
11:03Local fire departments, police departments, that's unacceptable, we're not going to let
11:06it.
11:07But even private businesses, this was run amok and a lot of people would have lost their
11:11jobs.
11:12And so we saved thousands of jobs as a result of doing that.
11:16And we've also recognized bogus guidance coming from some of these exalted health authorities
11:22like the World Health Organization, you know, they want to do a lockdown treaty.
11:27We've already done legislation in Florida rejecting the WHO mandates in the state of Florida.
11:39So we really believe in informed consent.
11:41We really believe oh, we were also I think the first state to ban a very dangerous gain
11:46of function research, which is I mean, just think where we would be if Fauci had not
11:52run wild on gain of function research, I mean, it really changed the scope, or the path of
11:58the country even.
12:00So and people now have looked at that and almost everything we did, you had the usual suspects
12:05saying oh, this is terrible, they're not listening to experts.
12:08And now, no one would advocate for a vaccine passport.
12:12No one would advocate well, some may but not very persuasively, would advocate that you
12:17should lose your job over mRNA shots.
12:21No one is saying that somehow what the WHO is doing is good.
12:26Everyone has seen this now for what it is.
12:28And so you know, that brings us here today because we're gonna be talking about two pieces
12:34of legislation that I will sign.
12:36The first is SB 700 and there's a lot more to that.
12:40And we'll probably talk about that.
12:41The commissioner and I will do something in the near future to highlight some of the other
12:45provisions.
12:46But what this does with respect to putting fluoride in the water supply is it basically doesn't
12:56allow that anymore in the state of Florida.
12:59It's forced medication when they're jamming fluoride into your water supply.
13:04And they did it because, you know, if you have fluoride, it'll help with dental.
13:08And I'm not saying that's not true, but we have other ways where people can get access
13:14to fluoride.
13:15When you do this in the water supply, you're taking away a choice of someone who may not
13:20want to have overexposure to fluoride.
13:23And there have been studies done, and Joe will talk about it when he comes up, that there
13:27are impacts to pregnant women, to children about having too much of this.
13:33And you don't even have to agree with that analysis, but at the end of the day, we should
13:37all agree that we want people to be able to make informed consent, have informed consent
13:42when it comes to these things.
13:45Jamming fluoride in the water supply, irrespective of whatever for the teeth, when you can get
13:51that other ways, you know, that's impinging on other people's ability, you know, to have
13:55access to water in ways that they may not want to be exposed to, to what is essentially a force
14:01medication.
14:02So the legislature was able to pass that and we will be able to sign that.
14:07Joe Latipo issued guidance, I guess, like last year, right late last year about community
14:13water fluoridation due to the potential risks that were associated with exposure.
14:18And again, pregnant women and children were at most risk that this fluoride is a naturally
14:24occurring mineral present in groundwater, fresh and saltwater, rainwater, soil plants and foods.
14:29But the community fluoridation adjusts the amount of fluoride in drinking water to levels that
14:36are recommended high enough so that it could it could deal with with the tooth decay.
14:40But of course, you can get fluoride and toothpaste other ways outside of that.
14:46So what you've seen is these studies have been coming out, people are now looking more critically
14:51at this.
14:52And honestly, I think because we saw how out of whack some of these medical elites were during
14:57that I think people are just much more skeptical when these elites are trying to jam anything
15:02down our throats.
15:03And so there's a lot of people that look at this and they say, Okay, well, show me the
15:06evidence that the burden is on you to prove why this is a net benefit, which I think Joe
15:11would argue it's probably not with terms of health.
15:14But the highest burden is why should this be forced on people and it really shouldn't be
15:19forced on people.
15:20So you're seeing more and more places.
15:23You have countries where a lot of the municipalities in Europe have moved away from the forced fluoridation.
15:30Many municipalities in the United States and a lot in Florida.
15:33I mean, we've had a number of counties that acted in in after Joe's guidance, but also other
15:40stuff that was happening there.
15:42So this is I think the things that a lot of people want to see done.
15:46They want to see protections against this, they understand there's other ways that you
15:50can get fluoride if that's something that you need.
15:53And so there have been studies that have raised concerns about physical and mental health risks
15:58that have been associated with over exposure to fluoride.
16:02Now if you're brushing your teeth a couple times a day, you know, that's not going to likely
16:06present the same type.
16:07But you know, if you're drinking a lot of water exposed to that in the home or that's a
16:12different story potentially.
16:14And so people just should have that information and then they should make the appropriate adjustments.
16:20And there's nothing preventing you and your house from adding fluoride to your water.
16:23If that's what you think is good for you and your family, then you still of course have
16:27the ability to do that.
16:29So we don't want local governments unilaterally injecting the chemical into the water supply
16:35and exposing people to to potentially harmful side effects.
16:40I know the Miami Dade Board of Commissioners has voted and I think they voted the right
16:45way.
16:46And so thank you.
16:52Of course, for the counties that voted the other way where the the legislature, the legislation
16:57that will sign is going to is going to answer that question anyways.
17:00But but I do think that you guys led on this and I appreciate your leadership for that.
17:10The other bill that I'll be signing is Senate Bill 56.
17:13So this was done by Senator Ileana Garcia and and it protects Floridians from geoengineering
17:24and weather modification activities.
17:27Now, people have been coming up to me.
17:30We don't do that in any of our state agencies.
17:33There's never been any permit issued from the entire modern history of Florida.
17:38We're not engaged in any of that.
17:40But I people have concerns about because you have all these people that are saying, well,
17:44the way to fight climate change is to inject this stuff and block the sun and do all that.
17:49And I'm just like, no, OK, no, we're not doing that in Florida.
17:53We're the sunshine state.
17:55You know, we don't need any of this now.
17:57So it wasn't being done by the state of Florida.
17:59I can tell you that.
18:00But this is something that you hear out there that it's kind of like a little cottage industry
18:06where people think that they can solve global warming by just putting stuff into the atmosphere.
18:14So Ileana's bill really slams the door on that.
18:18Any of those efforts are dead on arrival in the state of Florida, so you don't have to worry about that going forward.
18:25And I know there was, you know, some back and forth on this bill.
18:29I know there was an attempt by the House leadership to water it down.
18:32We were concerned about what may end up happening.
18:34But I can say that this strong bill ended up passing and prevailing.
18:38So that's good, good, good on Ileana for doing that and making sure that we continue to do what's right by the people of Florida.
18:46So, um, so I'm happy to be supportive of these two measures.
18:56I know that there's a lot of folks that wanted to see this done.
18:59And so here we are getting it done as usual.
19:02And with that, I'll turn it over to our Commissioner of Agriculture, Wilton Simpson.
19:06Thank you, Governor, you know, Florida has passed now the 2025 Farm Bill after seven years.
19:20It sure would be nice that the federal government would follow our lead here.
19:22I would think so.
19:25This bill is great news for agriculture and it's great news for all Floridians.
19:30Agriculture is a national security issue.
19:33We, we know that to keep the free state of Florida free, we need to support agriculture.
19:39I look forward to joining you in the near future to talk about all of the great things we have done in this comprehensive bill.
19:45But today is about medical freedom.
19:48Governor, I was proud to be part of your courageous work during COVID banning vaccine mandates, banning vaccine passports,
19:56and being co chair of the task force to reopen the state of Florida when everyone else was shutting down their states.
20:03You have continued to fight that fight.
20:05And so have I.
20:07This farm bill includes many protections for our consumers.
20:10Today we announced that drinking water will hydrate, not medicate.
20:22You should not be medicated without your consent.
20:25It's plain and simple.
20:27This is one more way that we block trampling of personal liberties.
20:32There's a fundamental principle here informed consent.
20:36If you have the right to decide what medication you take, you have the right to decide what medication your children take.
20:43That should not be a controversial idea in a free society.
20:48This provision is more about more than just water.
20:51It's about restoring trust in public institutions.
20:54It's about drawing a bright line between public health and personal freedom.
20:59And it's about pushing back against creeping philosophy that the government always knows best.
21:05It doesn't.
21:07We've seen too many examples in recent years where trust the experts turned into sit down, shut up, and obey.
21:15Not in Florida, not on our watch.
21:24With this legislation, we're saying loud and clear, Florida water will be clean, it will be safe, and it will be medication free.
21:33That's how it should be.
21:34And that's how it's going to stay in Florida from protecting parental rights to fighting back against federal overreach.
21:40I would also like to thank President Albritton, Speaker Perez, Senator Trunow, Representatives Tuck, Alvarez and McClure, and our partners in the Florida Legislature for advancing this bill and standing up for common sense.
22:03This is what conservative leadership looks like, protecting agriculture, defending liberty, and putting people, and putting the people of Florida first.
22:12Thank you, Governor, and God bless Florida.
22:14Hello, everyone.
22:25I've been down in Miami.
22:26I was just thinking as I was sitting there listening to the commissioner, I'm like, I've been to Miami a lot lately.
22:31I've had a lot of trips down here.
22:33I love Miami.
22:35I don't love Miami traffic.
22:37And I've got to say, I do like the Pinellas County, Tampa Bay area more, but it is beautiful here.
22:43It's a very special place here.
22:45West of Florida.
22:46And a lot of, and Miami is obviously a very, very special place.
22:59Some people say it's actually part of Florida.
23:01I know that there's some discussion about that, but it is a very, very special place.
23:06And I also have a lot of friends in the audience today, so it's always a pleasure.
23:11A lot of friends in the audience.
23:12So, so, so that's, you know, that's great.
23:16And, you know, where do we start?
23:17We start with our governor who made, like, all of this possible, right?
23:22Leadership by example, right?
23:24Leadership by example.
23:26Leadership, you know, that is bold in the name of truth and in the name of your convictions and what you believe is right.
23:33And, and that creates space for other people to do the same.
23:36You know, it, it created a space for, for me to come here when, when the governor invited me to be the surgeon general, it's created space for me to do what I think is, is right scientifically and based on conscience and, and ethical values.
23:53And it's created space for other people to also, also to live up to, to what they believe is the right thing to do.
24:02So it, it starts with that man right there.
24:05And, and I want to thank commissioner Wilton Simpson for, for this agriculture bill that, you know, that makes it possible for the children, the families of Florida, not to have to worry about fluoridation and their water.
24:25This fluoridation is like, you know, I think of, I think of Charlie Brown and I love that.
24:30I don't know, I can't remember his name, but the little guy who holds his blanket, right?
24:34And I love it, you know, hold your blanket, but unfortunately, you know, he is a kid, but what we have instead, we have professionals.
24:41They're doctors, dentists, public health leaders who are holding on to fluoridation like that blanket.
24:48I mean, it doesn't matter what the evidence shows, right?
24:51Whatever the studies show about potential harms in, in children and, and pregnant woman and who knows about the rest of us, they're just holding on to it.
25:00And it's okay when you're a kid, but we're, we're grownups here.
25:04We're adults.
25:04We're responsible for, you know, for the lives of other people and we need to make good decisions.
25:08So you just, you know, it's really cute when you're a kid, but you can't hold on to that blanket as a grownup.
25:14Okay.
25:14I mean, it's just, I don't know, you know, you're, uh, Sue Alcaldi, right?
25:18Your mayor, Sue Alcaldi, you know, I listened to the statements and I understand she's not a scientist and God bless everyone.
25:26I, honestly, I, I don't really so much have a problem with people, whatever position they take on an issue, but I really want to see that you're, you're making an honest decision.
25:36And I think that's, that's, that's what's important to me.
25:39And it's just like, literally guys, with this fluoride issue, you have multiple research groups in different states, in different countries, finding the same things, right?
25:53Are they, are they all just making it up?
25:55I mean, can you actually in, in a sane mind, ignore all of that evidence?
26:01You can't, you gotta like, you gotta let go of the blanket.
26:04It, it's okay, you know, it's, it's all right to revise your position.
26:09It's all right to, to do something that goes against what, you know, whatever, you know, doc, Dr. Fauci, we're talking about him, you know, how he feels about fluoridation, but it's okay to, to reverse your, your position when there's evidence.
26:21I mean, that's the right thing to do.
26:22You, you, you're in a position of leadership.
26:25You're, you're there to serve people and like, you gotta serve them, you know, and that means doing whatever it needs to, whatever's needed to serve them.
26:32And, you know, Senator Garcia, we've been exchanging communications about this weather modification issue.
26:40This was an issue that I have learned so much more about.
26:44And honestly, I am gobsmacked.
26:45I mean, there's quite a lot more to this.
26:48And, and, you know, we're still, in the Department of Health, we're actually engaged in some work right now to study this scientifically in partnership with the Department of Environmental Protection.
26:59And we're engaged in that work, frankly, because as, as I, I, I'm incredibly grateful for her leadership in this legislation, but I don't know if it's going to be enough to stop these activities.
27:09I don't know if it's going to be enough to stop these activities because of the experience in Tennessee when they've done something similar, although our legislation is more far reaching and because of the ideology of the activities, which I've learned, learned more about.
27:21I mean, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's one of the pieces that it's just, it's kind of stunning.
27:27I mean, first of all, as the governor said, it's, are you kidding me?
27:31Right.
27:31So your plan to save us all is to, is to release stuff like aluminum oxide and other things into the sky so that it reflects the sun back out.
27:42Like that's your plan and you think, you know, and, and it, it will come down at some point and we will breathe it in.
27:48Right.
27:49And that's your plan to save humanity.
27:51Uh, you know, it's, it's, it's completely, I mean, it's not only off kilter, but it, it's, it's really, I mean, it's nuts that people think that they have a right to, to, to affect the, the, the air that you drink without your permission.
28:10I mean, I mean, you know, it's, I mean, the fluoride's bad enough in the, in terms of, in terms of people doing stuff without, you know, without your permission, your, your, your acknowledgement, you know, your, your, your, your affirmative participation.
28:24But are you kidding me?
28:26You know what I mean?
28:27The air that we breathe, right?
28:30That you have a right to do whatever you think is best for, for the air in terms of putting something into it.
28:36So, so there, there, there, it's, it's an issue.
28:40It's an issue.
28:43And I, I actually want to, so one of our partners in, in our trips down to, down to Miami and other parts of the city, other parts of the state, pardon me.
28:52And I, I want to say also, I, I mean, you know, this is a shout out to all of the, the cities and the counties that have taken the, you know, wrestled with this issue.
29:01Even if they voted the wrong way on it, I'm really appreciative of, of our communities, our community leaders who made this an issue that they were willing to step up and, and, and wrestle with and make a decision on instead of hiding about and not making a decision on.
29:20So that's for all of them.
29:21And in these visits, we've actually been invited often to different counties and cities.
29:26And, and, you know, I, I, I, I, I certainly am a physician.
29:30I take care of patients.
29:32I have a, a, a PhD, a doctoral degree in research science.
29:36So I'm very comfortable and familiar with science, but it helps to have an expert in an area.
29:41And I actually just want to call Dr. Mallon up.
29:44Um, she's a University of Florida professor.
29:47She's made the trip with us to, to many, many parts of Florida to present some of the science.
29:53So Dr. Mallon, would you, would you share some words, please?
29:56Sure.
29:57Yes.
29:58Thank you so much, um, to Governor DeSantis and Dr. Ladipo for having me here today.
30:04Um, I'm an epidemiologist and an assistant professor at the University of Florida, as
30:08well as a clinical psychologist.
30:11And I have been conducting research on fluoride in human health for about 12 years now.
30:15Um, I first want to say it's really been an incredible journey, um, from speaking with,
30:20um, Dr. Ladipo at the press conference last November when he issued guidance on community
30:25fluoridation, um, to traveling around Florida and presenting research on health effects of fluoride
30:31exposure, um, over the last several months.
30:34And one of the most rewarding parts of this experience has been meeting and hearing from
30:39Floridians in local communities across the state whose voices are now finally being heard
30:44on this issue.
30:45Um, but we also saw situations like in Bartow, Florida, where, for example, where many people
30:52pleaded with their elected officials to stop adding fluoridation chemicals to their drinking
30:57water.
30:58And that didn't happen.
30:59Um, now with this bill, their requests will be answered.
31:04There have been major milestones in the research on fluoride and neurodevelopment over the last
31:09decade and especially in the last year.
31:12And um, with more and more studies finding associations of fluoride exposure with adverse neurological
31:19outcomes, even at levels that we commonly encounter in Florida.
31:24The findings of these studies point to an imminent need for policy change and the policy change
31:29happening in Miami-Dade today with these ultimate signing of this bill is one that will protect
31:35the brains of children in Florida from unreasonable risk of harm for generations to come.
31:41Thank you very much.
31:43Good afternoon, everyone.
31:56I would like to recognize friends in the audience today.
31:59I'd like to recognize Marla Maples, Marla Maples with Global Wellness Forum.
32:06She has been instrumental in helping me understand why Florida needed to be at the forefront of
32:14this issue and how important it is globally.
32:17Also, I'd like to recognize the Paul Pack family joining us here today.
32:21So it is a truly significant day for the state of Florida when we are taking decisive action
32:25to protect our skies, our environment, and the well-being of all Floridians.
32:29I want to express my deepest gratitude to Governor DeSantis for his unwavering support and leadership
32:36in helping this happen.
32:38Senate Bill 56, very shortly, a reality.
32:43This landmark legislation sends a clear message Florida will not stand by while unregulated activities
32:49threaten the delicate balance of our atmosphere and there will be harsh consequences for those
32:54who do.
32:56So Governor forgive me I've got to sit down because I am not feeling well.
32:58Hey hey hey hey hey hey hey Hey we got you, we got you.
33:21We got you.
33:22We got you.
33:23We got you.
33:24We got you.
33:26Do you want some food?