Jim Turner - News Service of Florida

The House unanimously supported its version of the bill (HB 209) last Wednesday. The House and Senate would have to work out any differences before the scheduled May 2 end of the legislative session.

The Senate Finance and Tax Committee voted 3-1 to advance a wide-ranging proposal (SPB 7034) that would reduce state and local government tax revenue by $1.83 billion next fiscal year.

The Senate on Friday released a proposed $117.36 billion budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year that includes $200 million directed toward the citrus industry.

Gov. Ron DeSantis argues that Floridians would prefer reducing homeowners' property taxes over a proposal by Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez for a sales-tax cut.

Perez equated a 2022 law that provided exemptions to public-records and public-meetings laws for presidential searches to a “spoil system,” which he said the House bill (HB 1321) seeks to rectify.

The wide-ranging bill, HB 1535, looks to address hurricane-related issues from shelter regulations to directing how cranes are positioned when storms approach landfall.

Lawmakers will use the estimates to craft the fiscal year 2025-2026 budget, which will take effect July 1.

Both proposals are named after Lucy Fernandez, a 17-year-old killed in 2022 when a 29-foot boat she and 13 others were on hit a channel marker near Boca Chita Key.

Legislation under consideration would rename the Gulf of Mexico in 52 sections of state laws. A separate bill would require schools to begin acquiring instructional and library materials that reflect the change.

Before any votes occur, legislators are expected to seek feedback from local governments on the economic effects of cutting proprty taxes.