DeSantis enacts law to protect Florida veterans’ history

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed new legislation on Thursday that seeks to preserve the history of Florida veterans and the stories of their service.

House Bill 725 and House Bill 1329 are aimed at improving the lives of U.S. veterans and their families who live in the Sunshine State, with the latter bill creating and funding the Major John Leroy Haynes Florida Veterans’ History Program. This will record the stories of Florida veterans to preserve the tales of their service for years to come, as the governor noted how the 80th anniversary of D-Day made many realize there are not many surviving veterans from the historic event.

“The connection to those folks has dwindled because most of them have passed on at this time, so really, it’s up to us to make sure that future generations understand what it means, and I think that this program to record these stories and preserve them, I think is really, really important,” DeSantis said, a Navy veteran himself. “And this bill even goes further with that. We are requiring, in the state of Florida, middle and high school students to receive instruction on the history of Veterans Day and on the history of Memorial Day, which is good.”

H.B. 1329 also provides free hunting licenses, as well as freshwater and saltwater fishing licenses, to all disabled veterans, which will go into effect July 1.

H.B. 725, meanwhile, will expand the eligibility for admissions at a Florida veteran’s long-term care facility to include the veteran’s spouse and the surviving spouse of qualified veterans. DeSantis argued that this bill is “the right thing to do” and that it is important to recognize how the spouses of veterans have also served their country.

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Like H.B. 1329, this bill will go into effect July 1.

Earlier this year, DeSantis signed a bill aimed at teaching Florida students about the “dangers and evils of communism,” including the “current threat” of the ideology in the United States, to prepare students for higher education. These teachings will start in the 2026-2027 school year.