Florida Democrats unveil their goals for the next legislative session, and President Donald Trump’s administration reacts to growing pressure from Florida lawmakers about offshore drilling in the Gulf. 


Florida Democrats unveil legislative goals for the new session

Florida Democrats unveiled their plan to increase affordability in the state on Monday, in preparation for the legislative session in Tallahassee that begins next month.

Lawmakers said the three-point plan is designed to lower costs for Florida families.

“It’s time for Tallahassee to stop ignoring the problem, and instead, it’s time to act,” State Rep. Fentrice Driskell said.

The first part of the proposal includes a national insurance compact where states split the risk — which would, in theory, lower property insurance premiums.

“Storms don’t check party registration,” Florida Rep. Kelly Skidmore said. “Rising premiums hurt every family, every business, every community.” 

Next, lawmakers said they want to audit the state government and send any wasteful spending back to Floridians via a tax rebate.

“Floridians shouldn’t be paying taxes to fund political stunts, sweetheart deals, and high-paying jobs for politically connected friends,” State Sen. Lori Berman said.

And finally, they want to eliminate the stamp tax, which would include taxes paid on deeds, mortgages and promissory notes.

“For the first time, home buyers, we wanna make that moment, that moment when someone finally gets the keys to their first home, a little more attainable, a little more reachable,” State Sen. Tracie Davis said.

Meanwhile, Republicans are dedicating themselves to reducing property tax.

“I’m optimistic that it’ll yield a good result for Floridians,” Republican Senate President Ben Albritton said. “But it’s not simple. It really isn’t simple.” 

Some of the concerns with the idea come from the local level — as local governments receive funding from property taxes.

Florida Republicans are still brainstorming other ways to generate revenue.

Trump administration responds to criticism of offshore drilling plan

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum defended President Donald Trump’s recent proposal to expand offshore oil and gas drilling in the Gulf.

The plan faces stiff opposition from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state’s entire congressional delegation.

The Interior Department’s proposal to allow new oil lease sales in the Gulf has been denounced by both Florida Republicans and Democrats.

Despite this, Burgum insisted that, “Florida is completely protected,” and that, “there’s no lease options anywhere near Florida.”

“We’re talking 100 miles or more offshore from Florida, or not at all when you’re considering the East Coast,” Burgum said. “There’s no lease sales plan up and down the East Coast of the United States of America.” 

The department released a proposed map of the area, which it calls the Gulf of America Program Area B. The department wants to lease exploration rights in this area in 2029 and 2030.

Members of the Florida Congressional Delegation have noted that the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010 was both environmentally and economically detrimental to the Sunshine State.

According to NOAA, the spill left oil covering 1,300 miles of shoreline across five states.

“That is absolutely unacceptable,” Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz said. “And we cannot risk that this is a horrendous proposal that has nearly universal bipartisan opposition in Florida, and we need to do everything we can to beat it back.” 

The Florida Congressional Delegation, led by Sen. Rick Scott, has sent a letter to Trump asking him to uphold a moratorium on oil and gas leasing off the Florida coasts through 2032 that he instituted in 2020 during his first term as president.

Burgum noted that so far, only the planning process for lease sales has been announced.

“It’s defined in federal code. It’ll take 12 months to get through to where there’s a decision, if even there is a lease sale,” Burgum said. “And then it’ll be up to the private sector whether or not they want to bid on those — and they’ve got to go through all the permitting after that. So, this is the beginning of a long process. But there’s no there’s no lease options anywhere near Florida.”

The public comment period for the draft proposed program is now open and concludes Jan. 23. The comments may be submitted online at federalregister.gov.