When it comes to introducing legislation, many Florida lawmakers know the third time — or sometimes even the fourth or fifth — can be the charm.
Former state Sen. Nan Rich, D-Broward, proposed one bill three times before it passed in 2007. Though it changed slightly over the years, the final version allowed foster children to remain on Medicaid until the age of 21.
“You have to have stamina,” said Rich, who left the Legislature in 2012 and now works in local government.
The key to her success was collaborating with other legislators on both sides of the aisle, she said, but it’s also about tenacity and determination.
“It’s such a wonderful thing to be able to, and exciting to be able to say, we did it,” she said about finally passing the bill. “We did it all together.”
Over a decade later, Florida Rep. Fentrice Driskell, D-Tampa, is trying to replicate this success for a bill to expand abortion access. She has introduced the same bill to the Legislature three times — in 2024, 2025 and 2026.
The bill would “establish the fundamental right to reproductive health care” by prohibiting the government from blocking access to abortion procedures.
The bill was referred to the House Health Professions & Programs subcommittee Jan. 15 and hasn’t moved since. It died during the 2025 regular session.
Bills can die in committees when opposing legislators refuse to act on the measures or push to not have them heard, until eventually it’s too late for the bills to pass. However, experts say reintroducing legislation often results in certain parts of the bill being adopted into larger initiatives that eventually do make their way to the governor’s office.
This legislative tactic has been used for decades, and it’s often unsuccessful, but Driskell said she will not stop until this bill is passed.
“It’s important to continue the fight for reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy,” she said, adding the government should not have a role in these decisions.
Driskell said she doesn’t think the bill will pass with the current Legislature, but she will continue to file it every single year. Even if the bill never reaches the governor’s desk, Driskell said introducing it still serves a purpose.
“It would be great to get this bill signed into law,” she said. “But I also recognize that it is a tool that allows us to have important conversations that are worth having.”
Democrats hold a minority in the Florida House and Senate — making largely partisan issues supported by the Democratic Party, like abortion access, difficult to pass.
Another bill Driskell’s been fighting for since her first year in office is aimed at protecting students from discrimination in school based on their hair styles. It’s been introduced four times but never passed.
Driskell said the experience has taught her legislative momentum can come unexpectedly.
“We also just have to remember that some fights are worth fighting no matter the outcome,” she said.
Repeatedly introducing legislation is common in lawmaking, said Alan Wiseman, co-director for the Center for Effective Lawmaking at Vanderbilt University.
The success of the tactic really depends on the bill sponsor, how much they care about the issue and why they are using the tactic, he added.
Based on an analysis of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1973 to 2008, Wiseman said lawmakers who continuously introduced similar bills year after year were more likely to see parts of those proposals eventually move through the legislative process.
Over time, bill sponsors can build support among colleagues and incorporate elements of their proposals into larger legislative initiatives.
“By plugging ahead and continuously trying to cultivate different coalitions across congresses, they ultimately are able to achieve their goals of moving their legislation,” Wiseman said.
He said two main factors can cause a bill to succeed after repeated failures: coalition-building among lawmakers and increased awareness of the issue.
As legislators become more familiar with a topic or as external events draw attention to it, opinions within the Legislature might shift.
Adam Zelizer, an assistant professor at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy, said repeated bill filings can also function as a political strategy.
With highly visible issues such as abortion access, Zelizer said legislators often already know where their colleagues stand.
In these cases, repeatedly filing a bill can force opponents to publicly vote against it, a record lawmakers can point to during election campaigns.
“I would imagine just refiling it over and over is an electoral tactic to try to make the legislators who oppose it come out on record and oppose it,” he said.
Lawmakers can then show voters they attempted to pass legislation but were blocked by political opponents — a tactic Zelizer described as an “electoral strategy” rather than a genuine effort to appeal to fellow lawmakers.
Contact Alexa Ryan at aryan@alligator.org. Follow her on X @AlexaRyan_.
Alexa is a second-year journalism and international studies student and The Alligator's Spring 2026 Enterprise Politics Reporter. She previously served as the Fall 2025 Criminal Justice Reporter. In her free time, she enjoys running, traveling and going on random side quests.
