Ten bills passed either the House or Senate this week.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The 2026 Florida legislative session is barely underway, but the gloves are already off in Tallahassee — with strained relationships, emotional debates and divisive issues dominating week one.

The tone for week one set before speeches even began, with House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, alleging Gov. Ron DeSantis didn’t shake his hand or even look in his direction ahead of his state of the state address.

The exchange reopened wounds from last session when disagreements between the two over tax reforms contributed to the session running over by 45 days.

“Whether the governor wants to be petulant and not shake the hand of a partner, that’s on him,” Perez said.

Tensions did not calm in the following days either, with the House ultimately passing a bill Thursday after nearly three hours of debate that would expand the state’s wrongful death act to cover fetuses at any stage.

“This bill legally is a dumpster fire,” said Rep. Michele Rayner, D-St. Petersburg. “It is a slap in the faces of women who struggle to find bodily autonomy.”

“This is not about abortion,” said Rep. Hillary Cassel, R-Dania Beach. “And too often, when we talk about a pregnant woman, it always goes to the side of the mother that didn’t want the child.”

The House also focused on gun laws, passing a bill that would lower the age requirement to buy a rifle from 21 to 18 — a measure that was put in place back in 2018 in the wake of the Parkland school shooting that left 17 dead. 

“Rolling back this law would once again place lethal weapons into the hands of teenagers at their most vulnerable developmental stage,” said Rep. Yvonne Hinson, D-Gainsville. 

In total, 10 bills passed either the House or Senate this week, some with flying colors, like Senate President Ben Albritton’s Rural Renaissance Bill — that would give $200 million in funding to rural communities to improve access to schools, healthcare, housing and infrastructure — and a bill by Rep. Dana Trabulsy R-St. Lucie, seeking to repeal Florida’s “Free kill” law.

Just because these bills have passed one chamber so early on in the session doesn’t mean they will pass both. The bill regarding age requirements to buy rifles, for example, has made it past the House four years in a row now and will likely have another uphill battle this year when it makes its way to the Senate.