By james art 
Ahead of a special legislative session called by Gov. Ron DeSantis, Republican lawmakers on Sunday filed a flurry of bills to crack down on undocumented immigrants and place further restrictions on the ballot initiative process.
The bills would, in part, end in-state college and university tuition for undocumented immigrant students referred to as “Dreamers.” Place new requirements on police to assist in immigration enforcement efforts; and dramatically change the petition process for proposed constitutional amendments.
Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, Sen. Jonathan Martin, R-Fort Myers, and Sen. Jay Collins, R-Tampa, have filed 11 bills as of Sunday night, according to the Senate website. Reporter Mike Caruso, R-Delray Beach, and Rep. Rep. John Temple, R-Wildwood, had filed House versions that largely mirrored the Senate bills.
DeSantis on Jan. 13 called the special session because he wants lawmakers to make changes to help carry out President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. Other issues DeSantis wants lawmakers to address include making changes to the initiative voting process, providing aid to hurricane victims and addressing issues that have increased costs for condominium associations and residents.
The special session, however, was surrounded by uncertainty as Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wahula, and House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, raised objections. Among other things, they said the special session was “premature” and pointed to the March 4 start of the regular legislative session.
Desantis, however, has made a series of appearances to try to pressure lawmakers to act on the issues — particularly centered on immigration issues.
While the bills were filed Sunday, it remained unclear how the special session would take place. The Senate and House are scheduled to convene at 10:30 a.m. Monday, but neither have scheduled committee meetings since Sunday night to consider the proposals.
Among the suggestions:
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Martin and Temple filed bills (SB 20-A and HB 19A) that would repeal the 2014 law that allowed undocumented immigrant students to avoid higher out-of-state tuition rates if they met certain criteria. Albritton proposed phasing in the law, taking into account students who already receive the tuition subsidy or who plan to attend less expensive in-state colleges or universities.
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Ingoglia and Caruso filed bills (SB 4-A and HB 9A) that state law enforcement agencies in the state “will support the enforcement of federal immigration laws. Currently, state law says agencies “use best efforts” to support such enforcement. Also, under the bills, when counties receive notice that inmates have outstanding immigration holds, they would be required to transport the inmates to federal facilities or to federal officials.
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Ingoglia and Caruso have filed bills (SB 14-A and HB 11A) that would require state and county law enforcement agencies and other police agencies with more than 25 officers to enter into agreements with U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement to participate in a program that allows local local local and local application Officers to perform certain duties of federal immigration agents. The bills also would give the governor authority to suspend the head of a law enforcement agency “who, in the judgment of the governor, acts in bad faith and fails to comply with any provision” of the bill.
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Collins and Caruso have filed bills (SB 18-A and HB 21A) that would overhaul the initiative ballot process, including what appears to be an elimination of the use of paid petitions to collect signatures. Voters can request petition forms to be sent to them by election supervisors; They could then send signed petitions. The proposals come after DeSantis led efforts to defeat November ballot propositions that would have enshrined abortion rights in the state constitution and allowed the recreational use of marijuana.
To read the submitted bills, click here.
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This article originally appeared on the Tallahassee Democrat: Immigration and other bills filed for special legislative session