Our weekly recap from Aaron DiPietro, Legislative Affairs Director, Florida Family Voice and Kevin Baird, Executive Director, Church Ambassador Network of Florida
FFV’s Aaron DiPietro provides a quick update on the ninth week of
the Florida Legislative Session.
Dear Friend,
The 2025 Florida Legislative Session has concluded, and it is time for the FFV Insider’s Victory Report. In recent years, Florida has solidified its position as the beacon of hope, standing firm in the fight for life, family, and liberty—both for our nation and beyond. From advancing the sanctity of human life to safeguarding the innocence of our children, defending parental rights, upholding religious freedom, and protecting medical liberties, we have consistently and unapologetically led on issue after issue and Florida Family Voice has stood on the frontlines achieving many of those victories, year after year.
The first victory of the week actually came from outside of the legislature, from the Attorney General’s Office, when Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the creation of the Office of Parental Rights (OPR), a pioneering initiative designed to empower parents and protect their rights across the state. The OPR will serve as a vital legal resource for parents facing challenges related to medical consent, educational decisions, privacy violations, and more. By providing legal assistance and support, the office will ensure parents have the tools they need to protect their rights and advocate for their children’s well-being. With full backing from Governor Ron DeSantis, the OPR is set to make a significant impact in reinforcing Florida’s commitment to family values and parental authority and enforcing many of the great parental rights bills that FFV has worked on over the years! You can find out more about the Office of Parental Rights at this LINK.
An even more thrilling victory came in the past few weeks as Florida achieved a significant pro-life milestone in 2024, with the state’s abortion rate declining more than any other in the nation. This drop, reported by the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute, is attributed to the enactment of the Heartbeat Protection Act, which prohibits most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. The law went into effect on May 1, 2024, and has been credited with reducing the number of abortions by over 14% compared to the 2023 numbers! Additionally, in the aftermath of Florida voters rejecting the radical abortion-til-birth Amendment 4, we can expect an even larger drop in abortions, moving into 2025!
Back in Tallahassee, in spite of a rather tumultuous legislative session, which resulted in a record low number of bills passed into law (a number not seen in decades), we did achieve several significant victories moving the ball forward for life, family, and liberty in our state.
The Nonconsensual Altered Sexual Content & Porn Removal Act, or “Brooke’s Law,” requires platforms to remove nonconsensual altered sexual content within 48 hours and penalizes those who fail to comply. It provides victims with recourse against pornography producers’ abuses and is awaiting the governor’s signature.
The Surrendered Infants Procedures and Baby Box Act expands safe haven laws, allowing newborns to be safely surrendered at baby boxes. It ensures prompt medical care and simplifies adoption procedures. The bill has been signed into law by Governor DeSantis!
The Stem Cell Therapy Regulations Act sets ethical guidelines for stem cell therapies, banning non-FDA-approved treatments, especially involving embryonic stem cells, and promotes adult stem cell research. The bill awaits the governor’s signature.
The Supervision of Children Act ensures that parents cannot be penalized for leaving mature children unsupervised for activities like walking to school or playing outside, protecting parental rights from government overreach. The bill awaits the governor’s signature.
Finally, the capstone victory was the passage of the Initiative Petitions Reform Act, which strengthens Florida’s constitution by tightening election security procedures for citizen-led amendments. As we saw in the fight last year over Amendment 3 & 4, our citizen’s initiative process is broken under the weight of multiple cases of widespread petition fraud and blatant disregard for the initiative process. This law seeks to restore safeguards to protect the sacred initiative process, punish fraudsters, shield Florida from out of state billions seeking to buy our constitution, and ensure that any changes to our constitution truly reflect the will of the people of Florida. The House version has passed both chambers and is awaiting the Governor’s signature.
For the full Victory Report containing all of this session’s victories and losses and details on the bills, click on the link below.
Sen. Erin Grall presenting HB 1205, The Citizens Initiative Reform Act
Unfortunately, however, we did see a significant number of other priority bills tabled and killed. Generally, with a few exceptions, the bills were not killed by any one person but were the victims of circumstance from an intense three-way leadership clash between Gov. Ron DeSantis, Senate President Ben Albritton, and House Speaker Danny Perez, particularly in the latter weeks of session regarding debates over the budget; moreover, a special session will be called to pass a final budget in the next few weeks. Granted, the influence of influential Senate Rules Chair Kathleen Passidomo or other more moderate members of the legislators in opposition to our priorities was present for a few of the occasions. And for other bills, procedural hurdles or the legislative clock running out were the culprits.
However, in spite of the setbacks, this was still a very successful and productive session. Below, you will find links to a comprehensive report on the legislative victories achieved and losses dealt this session, including the good bills passed and the bad bills defeated. We also outline our priorities for future sessions, consisting of many of the good bills that died this session. We want to thank all our bill sponsors and cosponsors for their fight in standing for these critical issues. You can see many of those members listed in the report below.
For the full Victory Report containing all of this session’s victories and losses and details on the bills, click on the link below.
Beyond the legislative victories, this session was the most impactful in the advances FFV was able to make behind the scenes—in the quiet work of relationship-building rooted in trust, respect, and biblical principles. We strove to embody the hands and feet of Jesus by walking alongside lawmakers, offering support, prayer, wisdom, and guidance as they navigated complex policy challenges. Behind the scenes, we equipped legislators with in-depth research, clear talking points, and thorough debate preparation so they could champion our pro-family priorities with integrity and clarity. When language or conflict issues arose, we followed the Matthew 18 principle—addressing concerns privately to refine proposals or address problems without unnecessary public attacks. This humble, relational approach balanced with a principled and uncompromising stand on the issues, has and continues to set Florida Family Voice apart in the process and earned respect across the board in Tallahassee. This session was the clearest example of that impact to date.
As I come to the end of my fourth session with Florida Family Voice, I am once again humbled to serve on the frontlines in Tallahassee and in spite of the challenging circumstances, I am excited about the future. Thank you once more for your unwavering support and prayers as we continue to be a voice for the Florida’s family in the years to come! God bless!
For the Family,
Aaron DiPietro
Legislative Affairs Director
P.S. You can support the impact Florida Family Voice makes by making a one-time donation or joining our circle of monthly supporters—visit HERE — your support is pivotal to supporting the Florida Family Voice vision moving into the post-session stretch.
This is the ninth week of Legislative Session 2025, and the Church Ambassador Network of Florida was at the state capitol finishing a great year of ministry and Bible distribution. This has been one of the busiest sessions for legislators, yet one of the most fruitful for the work of the Florida Capitol Project.
As a report and recap, let’s review some of the highlights of the ministry that took place through the Church Ambassador Network.
This year marked our 7th legislative session of the Florida Capitol Project where we connected pastors from across the state directly with their elected leaders for moments of prayer, possibilities of partnership, and on occasion important public policy discussions. We launched our first annual Gather at the Gate event at the Capitol Courtyard on the opening day of the Legislative Session to pray and seek the Lord’s guidance, blessing, and provision over this session’s activities.
Over 9 weeks, 119 pastors had more than 250 impactful ministry moments at the Capitol – bringing our FCP total to over 630 pastors and 860 ministry opportunities in just seven years. Some of these meetings were the first time a legislator had ever been personally prayed for by a pastor in their office. And the impact didn’t stop there.
The highlight this year was distributing personalized, leather-bound study Bibles. Thanks to a generous donation, we are placing a brand-new Bible into the hands of every one of Florida’s 160 state legislators. Each Bible is personalized with their name and title on the cover. This is a visible reminder that God’s Word has a place in every corner of government.
The response has been overwhelming. Week after week, we heard one word again and again, “Wow!” One legislator said it was the first Bible they’d ever touched. Another told us they were looking for a study Bible but didn’t know where to start. One even shared through tears that a family member was ready to open their heart to Christ and asked for a Bible. This timely gift was a sign to them that the Lord would bring salvation to this precious family member.
God’s Word opened hearts and doors like never before. The Spirit is at work in your state capitol, softening hearts, opening conversations, and raising up men and women who will lead with wisdom and integrity. These encounters are bearing much fruit. Tracie is personally discipling several legislators in their walk with Christ.
The Florida Capitol Project is more than an outreach; it’s a movement to reintroduce the presence of the Church into the heart of government; not for political power, but for spiritual renewal.
As we conclude Legislative Session 2025 at the state capitol, we will continue to work and travel the state to reach the 17,000 evangelical churches in Florida encouraging Pastors and Churches to engage in the civic mission field. We are also growing FFV’s Church Ambassador Network Advisory Board made up of some of Florida’s most influential spiritual leaders. We now have 15 pastoral leaders on our statewide advisory board, with 15 more to be added soon.
At Florida Family Voice, we believe the Church is God’s Plan A. We are building trusted, Gospel-centered relationships that bless and protect our state—now and for the future.
I hope I get a chance to meet many of you at the upcoming FFV Gala in Orlando at the Rosen Shingle Creek Conference Center, featuring Charlie Kirk. It will be an exciting night. If that’s not possible, then I hope you will consider supporting our ongoing and important work taking place here in Florida. We would gladly receive your generous support and steward it to the glory of God.
Thank-you again for your interest and prayers.
Kevin Baird, D.Min.
Executive Director, Church Ambassador Network of Florida
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