Florida Lawmakers’ Results Midway Through Desantis’ Last Session: Not Much

TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Florida’s GOP-dominated Legislature had goals and dreams of conservative moves that would cap off Gov. Ron DeSantis’ last year in office. Instead, lawmakers are stumbling into the midway point of their annual session.

And it’s not clear what — if anything of substance — will actually pass this year.

There’s been no serious movement on a property tax overhaul, despite a persistent push from DeSantis. The governor’s own bid to put guardrails on artificial intelligence appears to be in serious jeopardy. Top priorities of legislative leaders have moved in one chamber but not the other.

It’s a startling turnaround from those previous sessions when DeSantis was at his political zenith and legislators slammed through a long line of measures designed to appeal to conservative voters. That’s been replaced with shrugs and maybes from many top lawmakers about what can be accomplished this year.

Normally in election years, GOP lawmakers work in tandem with the governor on everything from a please-everyone budget to signature legislative achievements that can be touted on the campaign trail. That may not be the case this time around.

Legislators from both parties acknowledge a great deal of remaining uncertainty with 30 days left in the 60-day regular session.

“Does this even look remotely scripted to you?” said state Rep. Lawrence McClure, a Dover Republican and House budget chief. “Hence why I can’t tell you how it’s going to end. It’s not scripted. You want the ending to a movie I’ve never seen. I didn’t write the production. I have no idea. The process is going to work itself out, right?”

Added state Sen. Jennifer Bradley, a Republican from Fleming Island: “There’s a lot of big unanswered questions that we usually have some answers on before this point.”

Nearly 1,800 bills and proposed constitutional amendments have been filed so far for the 2026 session. Only two bills have passed the Legislature so far.

The lackluster pace and seeming lack of direction has several sources. DeSantis, who is term limited and has seen his clout wane after his unsuccessful bid for president, has undercut much of the need for any urgency. He ordered a special session on redistricting for late April — even though House Speaker Daniel Perez initially said it would be “irresponsible” to wait until then.

For the past year, DeSantis has hammered home the need to come up with a property tax overhaul and at one point pledged to end property taxes for Floridians who own their own home. But while he promised last year to roll out his own detailed plan on property taxes, he has yet to release anything. DeSantis has also suggested that property taxes may require their own dedicated special session.

Senate President Ben Albritton could not say this week if property taxes would even tackled during the regular session and instead just said, “We’re still looking very closely at this.”

Another factor adding to the seeming malaise: ongoing tensions between House and Senate leaders. Last year, an impasse over budget and taxes forced the session into overtime. At the same time, DeSantis has repeatedly bashed House Republicans but has forged an alliance with Albritton, creating a 2-on-1 dynamic.

“Anything that requires a lot of engagement by the leadership of the House and Senate to work out is not going to pass,” predicted one veteran Republican lobbyist who was granted anonymity to speak candidly. “There’s just not a lot of bandwidth given the personalities.”

The Legislature, of course, has not been completely idle for its first month of session. They have waded into various policy disputes that have pitted well-heeled special interests against each other, ranging from land development regulations to shielding a gun manufacturer from lawsuits. There have also been new bills dealing with gender identity, race and immigration that have generated fierce debate.

State Rep. Christine Hunschofsky, a Democrat from Parkland, said people in her district are asking her about property insurance and property taxes.

“I tell them bills have been filed but they aren’t moving,” she said.

Albritton told reporters last week that he saw no need to make any additional changes on property insurance and cited the laws passed earlier this decade that placed limits on lawsuits against insurers. He and other Republicans contend that these changes have stabilized the market and that rates are starting to trickle downward.

Lawmakers have one big task that they are supposed to accomplish over the next month: a new state budget for the next fiscal year that starts in July. DeSantis has already offered up his own spending suggestions, but it’s not clear how much buy-in he will get from lawmakers on some of them.

Budget negotiators must also decide whether Florida should mirror federal tax cuts adopted by Congress last year. That could take anywhere from $1.5 billion to $3.5 billion out of the state’s main budget account.

State Sen. Ed Hooper, the chamber’s budget chief, remains optimistic that the House and Senate will avoid the drawn-out and at-times bitter budget stalemate of last year.

“To me, it’s better than last session by far,” Hooper said. “I think it’s going to be OK.”

State Rep. Fiona McFarland, a Sarasota Republican, also gave an upbeat assessment about the final month.

“I don’t know if this is the year for transformative government, but we’re still going to get some very good work done,” McFarland said.