DeSantis Signs Foreign Interference Restriction and Enforcement Act at Miami's Bay of Pigs Museum

Governor Ron DeSantis signed HB 905, the Foreign Interference Restriction and Enforcement Act, into law on May 8, 2026, at the Bay of Pigs Museum and Library in Miami. The legislation strengthens Florida's legal framework for defending against hostile foreign influence, targeting countries designated as foreign adversaries under state and federal law, including China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, and Syria. The law, which takes effect July 1, expands penalties, adds new prohibitions on contracts and agreements with entities tied to those nations, and establishes a formal state designation process for domestic and foreign terrorist organizations.

What the Law Does

The Foreign Interference Restriction and Enforcement Act builds on earlier Florida legislation targeting foreign countries of concern by adding several new layers of restriction and enforcement authority. At its core, the law prohibits Florida from giving or receiving money from designated terrorist organizations, a provision designed to close potential loopholes in existing state contracting and grant-making processes. The legislation also bars state agencies from entering into contracts or partnerships with entities controlled by or affiliated with countries of concern, tightening restrictions that previous law had applied more narrowly.

The law creates a new state-level designation process for both foreign and domestic terrorist organizations, allowing Florida to act independently of federal designations in some circumstances. This is significant because it gives Florida law enforcement and prosecutors an additional tool for addressing groups that may operate below the threshold of federal terrorist designation but that pose credible threats to the state's institutions, critical infrastructure, or public safety. The designation process includes procedural safeguards to prevent abuse, requiring factual findings and creating administrative review mechanisms.

Penalties under the new law are strengthened for officials who accept foreign benefits, including gifts, honoraria, or payments from entities connected to countries of concern. This provision targets a specific vulnerability identified by Florida and federal intelligence officials: the effort by foreign adversaries to cultivate influence among state and local government officials, academics, and business leaders through financial incentives. The law also restricts lobbying activities connected to foreign governments or their proxies and tightens requirements around government contracting to prevent foreign-controlled entities from gaining access to sensitive state systems or procurement processes.

Countries of Concern

Florida law designates seven nations as countries of concern: China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, and Syria. These designations reflect a combination of federal policy, Florida-specific security concerns, and the geopolitical context of Florida's large diaspora communities from several of these nations. The list has been part of Florida law for several years, but HB 905 expands the consequences of that designation across more categories of state activity.

China is identified as the most significant and comprehensive threat, given its state-sponsored espionage activities targeting American universities, research institutions, and technology companies, several of which have Florida campuses or facilities. Russian influence operations, including disinformation campaigns and cyberattacks, represent a second major concern. Iran's designation reflects its support for proxy organizations and its history of plotting attacks on American soil.

The Cuba designation carries particular resonance in Florida, given the state's large Cuban-American population and the historical depth of Cuban intelligence activities in South Florida. The law was signed at the Bay of Pigs Museum and Library, a site that commemorates the 1961 failed invasion of Cuba by U.S.-trained Cuban exiles, in a deliberate choice that linked the new legislation to the decades-long struggle of the Cuban-American community against the Castro and now Diaz-Canel regime in Havana. Florida's Venezuelan and Nicaraguan diaspora communities, also represented at the signing ceremony, similarly welcomed the law's provisions targeting regimes in those countries.

Key Prohibitions and New Restrictions

Among the most specific new provisions of HB 905 is a prohibition on surrogacy and adoption contracts that involve individuals or entities connected to countries of concern. This provision addresses concerns raised by Florida officials and federal intelligence agencies about foreign intelligence services using international adoption and surrogacy networks as cover for placing foreign nationals in American communities. The prohibition is narrow in scope but symbolically significant, reflecting the breadth of the foreign interference threats that lawmakers sought to address.

The law also strengthens Florida's restrictions on foreign real estate purchases, particularly near military installations and critical infrastructure. Existing Florida law had already imposed restrictions on land purchases by nationals of countries of concern, and HB 905 tightens enforcement mechanisms and clarifies penalties for violations. These provisions are relevant to several Florida military bases, including MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Patrick Space Force Base on the Space Coast, and Naval Air Station Jacksonville, all of which are located near residential and commercial real estate markets that have attracted attention from foreign investors.

For the private sector, the law creates new disclosure requirements for businesses with significant contracts with state agencies who also maintain relationships with entities in countries of concern. These disclosure requirements are intended to give state procurement officers more visibility into the potential foreign influence channels embedded in state contracting relationships, without imposing blanket prohibitions that could harm legitimate international business activity. Industry groups that work extensively with international partners have been monitoring the law's implementation guidance closely to understand its practical scope.

The Bay of Pigs Signing Ceremony

The choice of the Bay of Pigs Museum and Library in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood as the site for the signing ceremony was rich with symbolic meaning. The museum preserves the history of Brigade 2506, the force of Cuban exiles trained by the CIA that attempted to overthrow Fidel Castro's government in April 1961 at the Bay of Pigs. The invasion failed, resulting in the capture and imprisonment of hundreds of brigade members, and became one of the most significant episodes in the history of the Cuban-American community's decades-long resistance to communist rule in Cuba.

DeSantis has cultivated a close relationship with the Cuban-American community throughout his tenure as governor and has consistently taken hardline positions on Cuba policy, opposing any relaxation of U.S. economic sanctions and supporting the Cuban diaspora's advocacy for democratic change on the island. By signing HB 905 at the Bay of Pigs Museum, DeSantis placed the new legislation in the context of that history, framing Florida's foreign interference law as part of a continuum of resistance to authoritarian regimes that stretches back more than six decades.

Community leaders and veteran members of Brigade 2506 were present at the ceremony, and the Governor's office described the event as a recognition of the Cuban-American community's unique role in alerting the nation to the threats posed by the Cuban government and its intelligence services. The symbolism of the location also reinforced the law's provisions specifically targeting Cuba as a country of concern, at a time when concerns about Cuban intelligence activity in South Florida remain active among federal and state law enforcement agencies.

Reactions and Broader Context

The legislation passed with broad support in the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature, with few dissenting votes. Proponents argued that the law closes genuine loopholes and strengthens Florida's ability to protect its institutions, citizens, and infrastructure from foreign adversaries who have demonstrated active interest in infiltrating American state and local government. State attorneys and law enforcement officials who testified during committee hearings said the additional legal tools would improve their ability to investigate and prosecute foreign influence cases.

Some civil liberties organizations and business groups raised concerns during the legislative process about the breadth of certain provisions, particularly those affecting international business relationships and academic exchanges. Critics argued that overly broad restrictions could chill legitimate academic cooperation and international commerce, and raised questions about due process protections in the new state designation process for terrorist organizations. Supporters of the law countered that the provisions include adequate procedural safeguards and that the national security interests at stake justify the additional restrictions.

The law is one of several foreign-influence statutes enacted by Florida in recent years, reflecting a broader recognition among state policymakers that the primary venues for foreign interference have shifted from federal institutions alone to state and local government, universities, and private sector entities. Florida's proximity to Cuba and its large populations of immigrants from multiple countries of concern make it a particularly active site for foreign intelligence activity, and state officials have argued that federal law alone is insufficient to address those threats.

What's Next

HB 905 takes effect July 1, 2026, at which point its provisions on contracting prohibitions, lobbying restrictions, disclosure requirements, and penalties become operative. State agencies will need to update their procurement and contracting processes to reflect the new requirements, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which is responsible for some enforcement provisions, will need to develop implementing regulations and guidance for local law enforcement agencies.

The state's attorney general is expected to issue guidance on the new terrorist designation process and the procedures for identifying and acting on violations of the contracting and lobbying provisions. Industry groups and universities are also working to understand the practical implications of the disclosure requirements for international partnerships, and several have sought clarification from state officials about which types of relationships fall within the law's scope.

For Floridians, the Foreign Interference Restriction and Enforcement Act represents the latest step in what state officials have described as an ongoing effort to harden Florida's institutions against a range of foreign influence threats that have grown more sophisticated and more aggressive in recent years. The law's July 1 effective date means that its provisions will be in place for the fall 2026 election cycle, a timing that state officials noted was intentional given the documented interest of foreign adversaries in influencing American electoral processes.