Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) issued one executive order from March 6-12. As of March 12, DeSantis has issued 49 executive orders in 2023—five fewer than he did at this point a year ago.
- Executive Order Number 23-49, where the governor renewed Executive Order 23-03, a declaration of a state of emergency due to what the order called a “mass migration of unauthorized aliens to Florida,” for 60 days.
Governors use executive orders to manage executive branch operations. During the week of March 6-12, the nation’s governors issued 10 executive orders. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) issued the most with two. Governors in 41 states issued the fewest with zero. Democratic governors issued eight of the 10 orders, while Republican governors issued two.
DeSantis has served as governor since Jan. 8, 2019. He issued 272 executive orders in 2022 and 246 in 2021. Nationally, governors issued at least 1,559 executive orders in 2022. Governors have issued 319 executive orders in 2023. Republican governors issued 198, while Democratic governors issued 121. Florida is a Republican trifecta, meaning Republicans control the governorship and both chambers of the state legislature.
Additional reading: