Florida's Latest News

What's the latest on the plans to eliminate Florida property taxes?

Florida politicians have been talking a lot for months about cutting property taxes. There are a pile of ideas, but not much yet on a path forward.

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis says he wants to call the state Legislature back for a special session on property taxes. But he hasn’t yet put forward a plan and no date has been set for a session.

There are less than seven months until the November election, so where does the issue currently stand?

Most of the proposals so far involve amending the state Constitution, which would require a 60% favorable vote in a referendum to be enacted. Such an amendment also would need a three-fifths vote to pass the state House and Senate, before it got to voters.

University of Tampa breaks ground on ‘generational’ 5-story science center

More than 100 city and university officials and community members gathered Wednesday along the patio of the University of Tampa’s Grand Center building, alongside heavy machinery set to crunch into the rich soil beside the Hillsborough River.

In about three years, that ground will be home to the private university’s five-story Dickey Science Innovation Center.

“All the necessary components for the future will be in this building, and it will provide generational opportunities,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, an alumnus, said at the ceremony. “This is a great day for the University of Tampa.”

The center is touted as the “most significant academic facility investment in the university’s 94-year history,” according to the its website. The university declined to share the total cost of construction.

Blaise Ingoglia says March snapped record with $92M returned in unclaimed property

A record amount of money was returned to Florida residents in March as part of the state’s Treasure Hunt program.

The service seeks to return assets and other holdings to their rightful owners. Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia says March was the second straight record-setting month for the program, with $92 million in unclaimed property sent back to residents.

This past February also set a record for that month, with $88 million in assets and unclaimed property returned.

“Another record-breaking month demonstrates how hard our office is working to return lost financial assets to Floridians,” Ingoglia said in a news release. “Florida families could have extra money just waiting for them to claim before summertime. To check out if you have unclaimed property, please visit FLTreasureHunt.gov.”

Scott Franklin Introduces Bipartisan Bill Improving Federal Use of Hazard Risk Tools

Representatives Scott Franklin (R-FL) and Gabe Amo (D-RI) have teamed up to introduce a bipartisan bill to improve how the federal government uses hazard risk assessment tools purchased from the private sector.

For instance, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has the National Risk Index for Natural Hazards, a digital dataset that provides detailed analyses of the natural hazards a given area is most at risk of, including expected annual losses, social vulnerability, and community resilience.

Rep. Franklin's Advancing Consistent and Credible Use of Risk Assessment Tools and Evaluation (ACCURATE) Act creates a federal commission, under the Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology, to review whether similar systems purchased from the private sector are consistent, credible, and transparent by establishing standards for methodology and procurement.

The ACCURATE Act is built upon Florida's own Commission on Hurricane Loss Projection Methodology, which is recognized nationwide for its accuracy and transparency.