As someone who has overseen my entire residence being converted to solar between 2018 and 2021, FPL’s net metering bill targeted ME and tens of thousands like me, specifically. HB 741 I had interpreted as a direct shot at me personally, something I have never done with an individual piece of legislation before.

Governor DeSantis continued his recent pushback against large corporations in the state with his veto of HB 741. The net impact of FPL’s intentions, which the legislature rubber-stamped with minimal opposition would have been to punitively punish homeowners whose only sin was harnessing the power of the sun here in Florida, which is after all “The Sunshine State.” It would have locked-in a massive financial break for one of the nation’s largest utility companies, a company that has played politics unethically and arguably illegally in the two years.

While DeSantis party has directly benefited from FPL’s corruption (readers of these pages no doubt don’t need a refresher on that!), the Governor, to his credit seems to not be in their pocket. DeSantis veto of HB 741 must be applauded by all citizens of this state irrespective of political views and whether or not you support the Governor.

“Given that the United State is experiencing the worst inflation in 40 years and that customers have seen steep increases in the price of gas and groceries, as well as escalating bills, the state of Florida should not contribute to the financial crunch that our citizens are experiencing,’ the Governor said in his veto message.

This might be speaking out-of-school on these pages, but we don’t pull punches here, so thank you Governor DeSantis. Your veto of HB 741 will directly benefit Florida.