first budget proposal in 2019<\/a> was $90.98 billion.\u00a0<\/p>\nProperty Tax Reform<\/p>\n
The Florida House advanced a series of proposals designed to cut non-school property taxes through its first committees this past fall, a move that could change how local governments fund services and manage local finances.<\/p>\n
The proposals include a measure to eliminate the taxes immediately, and another to phase them out over 10 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is about returning money to hard-working Floridians,\u201d said Coral Gables Republican Rep. Demi Busatta Cabrera.<\/p>\n
Another proposal would eliminate non-school property taxes exclusively for homeowners 65 and older.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a targeted approach to help those who need it the most,\u201d said Miami Republican Rep. Juan Porras. \u201cOur most vulnerable communities, those who have built the cities and counties, the areas that we all represent.\u201d<\/p>\n
The proposals include a police mandate that would require local governments to leave law enforcement budgets untouched.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did not support defunding the police in 2020, and I am not going to support it today,\u201d said Coconut Creek Democratic Rep. Christine Hunschofsky.<\/p>\n
It would require a constitutional amendment to alter the state’s property taxes. If passed by the Legislature, the proposal will go to voters in 2026 and would require at least 60% approval.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should not be afraid to let the voters of this state, the same voters who elected each and every one of us, make the decisions for themselves, for their communities and for the state,\u201d said Stuart Republican Rep. Toby Overdorf.<\/p>\n
Democratic lawmakers on Thursday voiced concern over the effort to slash property taxes, which are the primary revenue source for local governments. The Florida Policy Institute estimates $43 billion would be needed to maintain current services if the House proposals are enacted.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should not be putting our local governments in a situation where we’re taking away tools, only to have them shift that burden in some other way. That is actually going to have the most adverse impacts on the people who need our help the most,\u201d said House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell, a Tampa lawmaker.<\/p>\n
The Senate has not filed any companion legislation, leaving the House to move forward alone.<\/p>\n
DeSantis has criticized the idea of putting multiple tax proposals on the 2026 ballot, calling it a poor approach.<\/p>\n
Congressional Redistricting<\/p>\n
The Florida House Committee on Congressional Redistricting met in December for the first time to consider redrawing congressional maps before the next census.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On the board is Orlando Democratic Rep. Johanna Lopez, who represents District 43.<\/p>\n
There have been mixed reactions after DeSantis announced his plan to call a special session next year, as early as March, so lawmakers can redraw Florida\u2019s map.<\/p>\n
In order for a redistricting to happen, though, he still needs approval from the House and Senate, as the timing of his announcement would allow the Sunshine State to watch the U.S. Supreme Court, which is reconsidering parts of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Voting rights advocates from the American Civil Liberties Union worry that this move could unlawfully benefit one party over another. Civil\u2011rights groups and voting\u2011rights advocates warn that a new round of redistricting could collide with Florida\u2019s own constitutional limits.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be perfectly clear, in Florida, it\u2019s illegal and unconstitutional to draw districts to benefit one party over another,\u201d said Abdelilah Skhir of the ACLU during a press conference at the Florida Capitol in early December.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, some Republican leaders frame the push as part of a broader national battle over the congressional map. At least six other states are already revisiting their lines, and allies of President Donald Trump are urging Republican\u2011controlled legislatures to follow suit. Trump first made the call over the summer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will end in two very partisan draws in red and blue states, I would imagine,\u201d said Florida GOP Chair Evan Power. \u201cBut that\u2019s what they\u2019re trying to do in California. That\u2019s what they\u2019ve done in Massachusetts. That\u2019s what they\u2019ve done in New York. That\u2019s what they\u2019ve done in Illinois.\u201d<\/p>\n
Critics in Florida describe the governor\u2019s plan as political, discriminatory, and potentially unlawful. They point to the state\u2019s \u201cFair Districts\u201d amendments, which ban maps that favor a party or an incumbent.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo the Legislature: Your constitutional duty could not be more clear,\u201d said Jonathan Webber of\u00a0Southern Poverty Law Center<\/a>. \u201cYou can obey the Constitution or bow to political pressure, but you cannot do both.\u201d<\/p>\nMeanwhile, the Florida Senate has yet to formally publish an opinion, and unlike the House, Senate President Ben Albritton has not assembled a panel to brainstorm redistricting.<\/p>\n
DeSantis and Albritton met to discuss the plan, according to\u00a0Florida Senate spokeswoman Katie Betta.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Governor reiterated to the President what he has stated publicly \u2014 that the timeline for addressing redistricting should be next Spring,\u201d Betta wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TALLAHASSEE, Fla. \u2014 Florida lawmakers are set to converge on Tallahassee next Tuesday, where they will begin to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":107384,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1011,3140,274,28,30,29,1190,2287,115,139,20453,99,232,135,278,835],"class_list":{"0":"post-107383","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-florida","8":"tag-app-human-interest","9":"tag-app-local-state-politics","10":"tag-app-top-stories","11":"tag-florida","12":"tag-florida-headlines","13":"tag-florida-news","14":"tag-human-interest","15":"tag-local-politics","16":"tag-news","17":"tag-orlando","18":"tag-phillip-stucky","19":"tag-politics","20":"tag-tallahassee","21":"tag-tampa","22":"tag-top-stories","23":"tag-vod"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107383"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107383\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/107384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}