TALLAHASSEE

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office proposed major rollbacks to the state’s child labor laws earlier this year, saying changes made last year to loosen working restrictions for minors “did not go far enough,” records show.

The governor’s office crafted this year’s legislation, which would allow teenagers to work overnight hours on school nights and long shifts without a meal break. The office emailed the proposal and talking points in February to Sen. Jay Collins, R-Tampa, and Rep. Monique Miller, R-Palm Bay, according to emails released by the Florida Senate. The records were first reported by the Orlando Weekly.

Collins and Miller are sponsoring bills largely using the governor’s office language.

A few weeks after DeSantis’ office sent the draft bill, the governor said during a panel discussion with the Trump administration’s border czar that a younger workforce could be part of the solution to replacing “dirt cheap” labor from migrants in the country illegally.

“What’s wrong with expecting our young people to be working part-time now? I mean, that’s how it used to be when I was growing up,” DeSantis said during the panel. “Why do we say we need to import foreigners, even import them illegally, when you know, teenagers used to work at these resorts, college students should be able to do this stuff.”

The governor’s office’s memo did not mention immigration. Instead, the email said the bill would make it easier for teens to get and keep a job, and would “allow families...

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