Jacob Ogles
The Florida Legislature earlier this year passed an aggressive conservative agenda with relative speed. Senate and House leaders said that’s because the chambers and Gov. Ron DeSantis aligned their priorities.
“There were two years worth of legislative victories marked up or put on the scoreboard in one particular Session,” said House Speaker Pro Tempore Chuck Clemens, a Newberry Republican.
At a legislative update with Florida TaxWatch, the legislative leaders rattle off victories with school choice, as well as nuts and bolts issues like an affordable housing package.
Heading into another Session, Senate and House members said the chambers’ priorities are still closely oriented.
Sen. Clay Yarborough, a Jacksonville Republican, said to expect lawmakers to keep advancing a pro-business agenda.
“We want to continue to make Florida an attractive place to live, work and raise a family,” he said.
Clemens said the state’s revenues continue to grow. He noted that a tax reform package he championed a few years ago, which started charging online sales tax to offset depletion of state unemployment funds, has been extremely successful. He said the revenue-neutral legislation would soon start producing a reduction in Florida’s commercial rent tax.
“The fact that it would lower or reduce or eliminate taxes from this point forward in those other areas, it was a good win,” he told Florida Politics.
Members of the administration and prominent lobbyists also participated in the update, and predicted a smooth Session.
Marty Fiorentino, president of the Fiorentino Group, noted that in decades of GOP control in Tallahassee, legislative leaders and the Governor’s office have not always gotten along. “There has always been friction there,” he said.
While he expects some contentious issues may arise, he believes leadership in the Senate has closely followed the lead of DeSantis.
“They’ve been wildly successful in the programs they put forward,” he said. “You’ve seen a lot of tremendous things and initiatives and legislation passed that I don’t think people five years ago thought would have passed that quickly without rancor and that smoothly.”
Commerce Department leaders say DeSantis’ presidential campaign has helped advance the agenda and runs no risk of compromising it.
“It’s a great way to put the Florida model on full display to the country,” said T.J. Villamil, deputy secretary of FloridaCommerce.
He also suggested the administration will focus on growing Florida businesses as the state economy continues to strengthen. That means the agency won’t be looking to fund incentives, which has generated friction between prior Governors and the Legislature.
“Companies that are looking for extra incentive, they’re typically not the best fit for Florida,” Villamil said. “We’re focusing on what we have and helping our companies and our communities grow.”
