Newly proposed legislation would allow Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to run for president while still serving as governor.
The state's Republican-controlled legislative body gave a bill final approval on Friday.
A provision was added to a large elections bill expected to be passed into law. Florida lawmakers supporting the bill say its language is meant to be a clarification of current legislation and not specifically aimed at benefiting DeSantis.
Currently, Florida law requires that anyone in office who runs for a new office in such a way that the terms of the two different offices would overlap must put in a letter of resignation that is irrevocable before they qualify for the new position.
State Rep. Angela Nixon said DeSantis "needs to resign to run if he wants to run for president, period."
Nixon said, "Last time I checked, being governor is a full-time job. Running for president takes a lot of work."
Reports said the bill passed a day after a federal appeals court upheld GOP-led law regarding elections that was put in place last year.
There has been a standing debate among Florida legislators about the state's "resign-to-run" law and if it would apply to lawmakers making a bid for the White House.
Republican state Sen. Danny Burgess, who supports the bill, said, "That way, should we be fortunate enough to have a president or vice president from Florida one day, we’ve cleared that air."
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