{"id":152795,"date":"2026-02-12T09:44:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T09:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/152795\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T09:44:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T09:44:08","slug":"jim-boyd-brings-a-statesmans-approach-to-florida-senate-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/152795\/","title":{"rendered":"Jim Boyd brings a statesman\u2019s approach to Florida Senate leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sen. Jim Boyd is the current Senate Majority Leader. Following the 2026 election, he\u2019ll be the next Senate President<\/a>, replacing current Senate President Ben Albritton at the end of his leadership tenure.<\/p>\n

Both bring a statesman\u2019s mentality to the job, an approach Boyd leans into, and will continue to emphasize over the two years he wields the gavel.<\/p>\n

If you ask the Senate President-designate about his priorities as leader, you won\u2019t hear a lot of overtly partisan commentary, though his conservative values are clear. He favors lower taxes, fewer business-killing regulations and an overall emphasis on ensuring Florida families are able to grow and thrive in the Sunshine State.<\/p>\n

When his tenure as Senate President begins, Boyd will be leading the upper chamber in a new era of Florida politics, one that has yet to be defined: That is, Gov. Ron DeSantis won\u2019t be Governor anymore, and voters don\u2019t yet know who will succeed him next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI view myself as a servant leader, and my goal and my desire in having the opportunity and privilege of leading the Senate is to work with my partner in the House and my partner in the Governor\u2019s Office,\u201d he said of the executive office uncertainty.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

But while no one has a crystal ball, Boyd has a prediction.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile you\u2019re right, I don\u2019t know who that Governor will be, I know one thing: I\u2019m pretty sure it will be a Republican,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Boyd didn\u2019t elaborate on why he thinks so, but for those of us who work daily in and around The Process, it\u2019s pretty clear. Republicans have cemented their voter registration majority, with well over 1 million more active voters in the state than Democrats. A Democrat hasn\u2019t been Governor of Florida since Buddy MacKay, who served the remaining three weeks of fellow Democrat Lawton Chiles\u2019 gubernatorial term after his death in late 1998.<\/p>\n

But Boyd says he plans to work with Democrats, at least to some degree.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy Democratic colleagues will tell you I work well with both sides of the aisle. So whoever the Governor is, I will be focused on building a relationship where we can do what\u2019s right for our constituents,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Asked if that bipartisanship would extend to leadership positions in the Legislature by offering at least some Democrats the chance to lead or co-lead committees, Boyd said he hasn\u2019t thought that far yet. He acknowledged that, typically, the majority party controls most leadership posts. Nevertheless, he vowed to ensure Democrats have a seat at the table.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever capacity they serve, they will have a voice in the room,\u201d he said, adding praise for Senate Democratic Leader-designate Tracie Davis<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve already had good conversations about our ability to work together. So I\u2019m confident that whatever role that that ends up being, my friends across the aisle will definitely have the ability to have their say in what we do,\u201d Boyd said.<\/p>\n

He offered an example he sometimes uses at home with his family.<\/p>\n

\u201cI say, \u2018You know, the Democrats in their community got elected, just like I did in my community. So, you know, we control the majority, and I\u2019m happy to be part of that majority, but that doesn\u2019t mean they shouldn\u2019t have a say as well.\u2019 So I respect who they are, what they stand for, and I trust we\u2019ll have a very good relationship, a working relationship moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Boyd has adopted a saying by former House Speaker Dean Cannon, who presided over the chamber early in his legislative career. Cannon would tell him of the Republican Party\u2019s supermajority in the chamber, \u201cjust because you can, doesn\u2019t mean you should.\u201d The adopted motto shows Boyd isn\u2019t looking for shocking, controversial legislation, but rather policy he truly believes helps Floridians.<\/p>\n

The brass taxes<\/p>\n

At the end of the day though, Boyd\u2019s job as Senate President will be more about policy and budget than singing Kumbaya across the aisle.<\/p>\n

And he\u2019s got a plan for that, too.<\/p>\n

This Legislative Session, lawmakers are poring over several property tax cut proposals<\/a>, whether eliminating them altogether (with the exception of the portion that pays for public schools and public safety), slashing them for seniors, increasing homestead exemptions, or a number of other options on the table. Whatever emerges successfully from Session will then go before voters for their consideration later this year, where the issue faces a tough ballot test due to Florida\u2019s 60%-plus-one vote threshold for passage.<\/p>\n

If voters approve any sort of property tax reduction, it will be Boyd leading the Senate through that chamber\u2019s deliberations on how to move forward with the change. Challenges could be plentiful, with local governments already foretelling shortfalls that could impact local police and fire budgets and, as some have cautioned, require tax increases elsewhere that could offset savings for property owners paying less.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t believe we can abolish all of the homestead property taxes,\u201d Boyd acknowledged.<\/p>\n

But he also agrees with others in his party that rapidly rising property values in recent years have created something of a windfall, and that all governments \u2014 whether it\u2019s the state or a city or county \u2014 should be able to identify ways to ease tax burdens.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think all of us can find ways to tighten our belts, and our communities ought to be able to do that as well,\u201d Boyd said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we\u2019re looking at what might be the right property tax proposal, we also remind ourselves, as leaders and as elected officials, that we ought to be able to do things in a more efficient and more tax-friendly way for our constituents.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tackling affordability<\/p>\n

The property tax issue has arisen largely as a response to increasingly challenging affordability issues across not just Florida, but the entire nation. It\u2019s expected to be a major focal point in the Midterm Elections this year. By the time Boyd takes the gavel, voters will have sent a message at the ballot box one way or the other.<\/p>\n

And in Florida, there is a persistent affordability issue that\u2019s mostly unique to the Sunshine State.<\/p>\n

Property insurance rates have for years been among the highest in the nation. Homeowners have seen some downward movement on those rates following legislation cracking down on frivolous lawsuits. More providers have come into the state market, driving prices down.<\/p>\n

Still, pain points remain, but Boyd hypothesized additional relief on the horizon.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reforms that we put in place are starting to really work through the system and through the actuarial tables that will provide homeowners in Florida some additional relief in the short years ahead,\u201d he said, though he didn\u2019t offer any insight to any potential additional legislative fixes.<\/p>\n

The Senate President-designate also reminded that Floridians, like other Americans, are facing rising health care costs. There, he said it will be imperative to work with federal partners to ensure Floridians aren\u2019t priced out of coverage.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s always going to be a tough issue, because there\u2019s only so many dollars to go around. But again, spending in the right places and spending it on the right things are important,\u201d Boyd said.<\/p>\n

Public education<\/p>\n

While affordability is the kitchen table issue of the day \u2014 as it often has been throughout history \u2014 public education is also a hot button topic.<\/p>\n

The issue has become a national one, and Florida is often considered the original proving ground for school choice policies. Former Gov. Jeb Bush was a champion for choice, and the fervor for it, particularly among Republicans, has only gotten more intense since his tenure in the early 2000s.<\/p>\n

As with any policy, there are always detractors. School choice critics over the years have frequently derided such policies as a loss for traditional public education. The argument goes, particularly for school vouchers that allow students to use public funds to pay for private school, that choice programs are funneling funds away from public education.<\/p>\n

But even with a large contingent of critics, school choice has been relatively popular, and it earns at least some bipartisan support.<\/p>\n

Still, the battle rages on. This year, there are two issues facing lawmakers. One is an effort to add some transparency measures to the existing universal school voucher program, a fix bill (SB 318) that Sen. Don Gaetz is running. The other is in relation to the controversial Schools of Hope program.<\/p>\n

That program began as an effort to ensure students in underperforming areas were able to access quality education by allowing charter schools to co-locate in underutilized public school facilities.<\/p>\n

But some provisions landed with a thud. The program doesn\u2019t require charter schools to compensate school districts for use of their resources, which has prompted pushback from some local School Board officials. And new language added to the program also made it so that essentially any school in the state is subject to the co-location requirement, regardless of educational attainment in the area.<\/p>\n

The pushback prompted Sen. Darryl Rouson to file a repeal bill (SB 424), with Reps. Ashley Gantt and Robin Bartleman backing the House version (HB 6023). While it\u2019s unlikely either will gain traction in the GOP supermajority Legislature, Boyd acknowledged there may be some unintended consequences.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan we make it better? Should we try to make it better? Absolutely,\u201d Boyd said.<\/p>\n

But at the end of the day, he\u2019s a huge supporter for school choice done right.<\/p>\n

\u201cSadly, there\u2019s some public schools that are just not getting the job done, and kids don\u2019t have a chance,\u201d he added. \u201cGeneration after generation they find themselves in poverty because the kids and the families that they\u2019re a part of just don\u2019t have a chance to break that cycle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boyd said he supports public schools \u2014 he\u2019s a product of them himself \u2014 but strongly believes that when the system isn\u2019t meeting a community\u2019s needs, or an individual family\u2019s needs, they should have options that do.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t tell you the number of parents I\u2019ve had come through my office, and \u2026 they\u2019ve just had tears in their eyes and say, \u2018You know, my child was in a failing school. There was really no chance for success. I didn\u2019t know what was going to happen, but this opportunity came up for this school or that school, and it\u2019s made every bit of difference in my child\u2019s life.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sen. Jim Boyd is the current Senate Majority Leader. Following the 2026 election, he\u2019ll be the next Senate…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":152796,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[3940,836,12072,28,30,29,4216,7074,70142,5906],"class_list":["post-152795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-2026-session","tag-affordability","tag-dean-cannon","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-jim-boyd","tag-property-taxes","tag-public-education","tag-tracie-davis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152795","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=152795"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152795\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}