Jesse Scheckner
Only 11 of Florida’s 40 Senators serve from Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. But they’ll hold a disproportionate share of the chamber’s committee leadership posts in the coming Session.
Senate President Ben Albritton just released his list of committee Chairs and Vice Chairs for the 2025 Legislative Session. More than half of the chamber’s 26 panels — 14 committees — will have a South Floridian in a pivotal role.
Most will be Vice Chairs, since South Florida is still mostly represented in the Senate by Democrats. But all four Republican members from the area — Sen. Bryan Ávila of Hialeah Gardens, Sens. Alexis Calatayud and Ileana Garcia of Miami, and Ana Maria Rodriguez of Doral — received Chair designations.
Ávila, who won his Senate District 39 seat in 2022 after eight years in the House, including a final stint as Speaker Pro Tempore, will lead the Finance and Tax Committee with Sarasota Republican Sen. Joe Gruters as Vice Chair.
Garcia, who has served in Senate District 37 since 2020, will helm the Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice. Fort Myers Republican Sen. Jonathan Martin will be her second-in-command.
Rodriguez, who began serving Senate District 40 in November 2020, will lead the Environmental and Natural Resources Committee with Spring Hill Republican Sen. Blaise Ingoglia serving as Vice Chair.
Calatayud, who won her Senate District 38 seat in 2022, will chair the Education Postsecondary Committee. Tallahassee Republican Sen. Corey Simon, who last year sponsored a massive expansion to Florida’s school voucher program, as Vice Chair.
In turn, Calatayud will serve as Vice Chair under Simon in the Education Pre-K-12 Committee.
Ávila will also be Vice Chair under Tampa Republican Sen. Jay Collins in the Transportation Committee, while Garcia will hold the second-most-powerful post in the Children, Families and Elder Affairs Committee under Chair Erin Grall, a Fort Pierce Republican.
In a memo to Senate members, Albritton noted that he purposely asked members of the minority caucus to serve as Vice Chairs of many committees, including most of the chamber’s Rules, Fiscal Policy and Appropriations committees, as well as many of its subject-specific appropriations committees.
“As our largest committees, they serve as the last stop and gateway to the Senate Floor for each piece of legislation. It is important to me that both the Majority and Minority Caucuses have a significant role on these committees,” he said.
“Additionally, many of our vice chairs within our subject-specific appropriations committees are members of the Minority Caucus. In recent years our budget has almost always passed the Senate unanimously. To me, that record is indicative of a process where all Senators feel heard and their input valued, which I want to continue during our new term.
Miami Gardens Sen. Shevrin Jones, who will soon leave his short-term post as Chair of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party in keeping with Senate strictures, will be Vice Chair of the Rules Committee. Naples Republican Kathleen Passidomo, Albritton’s predecessor as Senate President, will chair the panel.
“I thank Senate President Albritton for trusting me to hold the Vice Chair position on the Rules Committee,” Jones said in a prepared statement Thursday.
“The appointment of minority caucus members to serve as Vice Chairs of the three biggest committees in the Senate demonstrates President Albritton’s collegial, bipartisan approach to this upcoming session. The people of Florida deserve results, not partisan games. I look forward to digging in this session and continuing to put families first.”
In the Appropriations Committee on Transportation, Tourism and Economic Development, Albritton named Boca Raton Democratic Sen. Tina Polsky of Senate District 30 as Vice Chair under Chair Nick DiCeglie, a St. Petersburg Republican.
Sen. Lori Berman, a Boynton Beach Democrat representing Senate District 26, will serve as Vice Chair under Lake Mary Republican Sen. Jason Brodeur in the Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment and General Government.
Senate Democratic Leader Jason Pizzo of Hollywood will be Vice Chair of the Regulated Industries Committee, which Fleming Island Republican Sen. Jennifer Bradley will control as Chair. Pizzo represents Senate District 37.
Tamarac Democratic Sen. Rosalind Osgood, a former Broward County School Board member nearing her third year serving Senate District 32, will be Vice Chair of the Fiscal Policy Committee under Gruters.
Two Senate newcomers from South Florida also won Vice Chair assignments.
Former Broward Mayor Barbara Sharief, who emerged from a contentious three-way Democratic Primary in August to all but secure the seat representing Senate District 35, will be Vice Chair of the Banking and Insurance Committee under Ingoglia.
And former Palm Beach County Commissioner Mack Bernard, who coasted into his Senate District 24 seat unopposed in June, will be Vice Chair of the Ethics and Elections Committee under Seaside Republican Don Gaetz, a past Senate President who won a second stint in the chamber this month after eight years out of office.
