Florida\u2019s 60-day legislative session has reached its midpoint, and according to Florida Politics publisher Peter Schorsch, the most notable development so far is what\u00a0hasn\u2019t\u00a0happened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are at the official midpoint of the 60-day session,\u201d Schorsch said on\u00a0The Ryan Gorman Show, adding that longtime observers are surprised by how few bills have advanced. \u201cNothing is happening. And that\u2019s the story out of Tallahassee.\u201d<\/p>\n
Unlike past sessions where lawmakers rushed early victories across the finish line, this year has lacked momentum. Several of Gov. Ron DeSantis\u2019 priorities \u2014 including property tax reform, an \u201cAI Bill of Rights,\u201d and new regulations surrounding data centers \u2014 have failed to gain traction. Budget negotiations haven\u2019t meaningfully begun either, with Schorsch noting that the only visible movement so far has been budget leaders \u201csquabbling with each other online.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the most pressing issues for Floridians \u2014 property insurance \u2014 also appears stalled. Despite reporting last year highlighting how some insurance companies posted significant affiliate profits while claiming underwriting losses, Senate President Ben Albritton signaled the Legislature is unlikely to pursue additional transparency measures this session. \u201cYou would think that there\u2019d be somebody who would sponsor some legislation,\u201d Schorsch said, pointing to the widespread public frustration over soaring premiums. But for now, meaningful reform efforts appear sidelined.<\/p>\n
Schorsch suggested the slowdown has less to do with disagreement with the governor and more to do with friction between the House and Senate. \u201cThe House literally wants nothing,\u201d he explained, describing a dynamic where there\u2019s no signature project driving negotiations. Without trust between the chambers, even routine legislative movement has stalled. \u201cYou need a willing partner here. And there just isn\u2019t any trust between the House and the Senate at this point.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, several agency heads appointed by DeSantis \u2014 including figures connected to the Hope Florida controversy \u2014 are awaiting Senate confirmation, adding another layer of political tension. Lawmakers are also technically operating while an immigration-related state of emergency remains in place, though legislation to reauthorize funding tied to that declaration has not advanced in the House.<\/p>\n
There has been at least one notable development: the annual Department of Agriculture bill. An initially controversial provision that would have expanded Florida\u2019s so-called \u201cfood libel\u201d law \u2014 allowing agricultural companies to sue over product disparagement \u2014 was amended in committee to remove the contentious language. With that change, the farm bill is now moving forward.<\/p>\n
As lawmakers head into a long weekend, the larger question is whether momentum will finally build in the second half of the session or whether this year will be remembered for its inertia. To hear the full breakdown \u2014 including what confirmations could become flashpoints and what might change behind closed doors \u2014 listen to the complete conversation on\u00a0The Ryan Gorman Show<\/a>\u00a0podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Florida\u2019s 60-day legislative session has reached its midpoint, and according to Florida Politics publisher Peter Schorsch, the most…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":152220,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[28,37245,412,232,234,233],"class_list":{"0":"post-152648","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tallahassee","8":"tag-florida","9":"tag-peter-schorsch","10":"tag-ron-desantis","11":"tag-tallahassee","12":"tag-tallahassee-headlines","13":"tag-tallahassee-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152648","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=152648"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152648\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}