Florida Gov. DeSantis Signs Bill to Ban Foreign Laws Like Sharia

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed into law a bill that bars Florida courts from applying foreign or religious laws—including Sharia law.

HB 1471 prohibits courts from enforcing any foreign judgment, contract, or legal provision that circumvents the U.S. Constitutional. And institutions using taxpayer dollars to promote terrorist organizations risk losing state funding. Violators face criminal penalties for providing material support to terrorists. Additionally, students who advocate terrorist violence face disciplinary action.

The bill passed the Florida House last month along party lines in a 80–25 vote. The Senate had earlier passed it 24–9.

The governor said the bill strengthens safeguards against terrorist organizations by ensuring one uniform legal standard across the state while closing loopholes that could allow foreign laws to override Florida or U.S. law.

“To uphold the rule of law, our state must operate under one legal system, the Constitution must remain the law of the land, and we must defend our institutions from those who would harm us—especially terrorist organizations that seek to infiltrate and subvert our education system,” DeSantis said in a statement on Monday. “HB 1471 reinforces these principles in Florida, and I was proud to sign it into law today.”

The legislation also expanded the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s authority. The chief of domestic security can recommend designations of domestic terrorist organizations. Once designated, these groups lose access to public benefits.

HB 1471 builds directly on Florida’s recent counterterrorism initiatives. In December 2025, DeSantis issued an executive order directing state agencies to block contracts, funding, and benefits to entities providing material support to radical Islamic terrorist organizations, including the Muslim Brotherhood and its subdivision the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

CAIR-Florida Executive Director Hiba Rahim called HB 1471 an “agenda-driven bill.”

“This is not just about CAIR. This expanded and deeply-flawed framework can attack any organization that dares to dissent,” Rahim said in a statement on Monday. “As Floridians, together, we’ll watch how this unprecedented law is enforced, and whether it is used or abused.”

The new law would also ban vouchers for private schools that are affiliated with a designated terrorist organization, including potentially Islamic private schools that could be tied to the promotion of Sharia law.

Florida Rep. Hillary Cassel, who co-sponsored the bill, said it reinforces “the supremacy of the U.S. Constitution and Florida law while ensuring taxpayer dollars are never used to support institutions tied to terrorist organizations.”

At a press conference, DeSantis called the measure “the strongest action Florida has ever taken against terror.”

“We shouldn’t have people in this country that hate this country,” the governor said. “That’s been a problem for decades.”