Florida's Latest News

DeSantis signs bills to tamp down local tax raises

Gov. Ron DeSantis has made a large property tax cut ballot measure central to his message in his last year in office, and on Wednesday, he signed two bills in line with that priority.

The bills are designed to make it harder for city and county governments to hike property taxes and require them to post more information online about their budgets.

“This is something that will be protecting taxpayers,” DeSantis said during a bill signing ceremony in Bradenton.

Under the first bill (SB 4F), local governments and special taxing districts won’t be able to use the rise in per capita personal income when calculating the maximum millage they can approve for property taxes.

Cities and counties can approve a rate that is 10% more than the rolled back rate — or the millage rate needed to generate the same revenue as the previous year as property values rise — if two-thirds of their board approves. But now they won’t be able to factor in the rise in personal income growth, making it harder to raise rates.

The bill was passed during the special session last month when lawmakers also approved the property tax ballot measure (SB 2F), which would increase the homestead property tax exemption from $50,000 to $150,000 in 2027 and to $250,000 in 2028.

Charlie Crist pitches renewed Rays push during St. Pete mayoral forum

Former Gov. Charlie Crist opened the St. Petersburg mayoral forum Wednesday evening by making his pitch to keep the Tampa Bay Rays in town, arguing the City should not move forward with plans for the Historic Gas Plant District until it makes another attempt to keep the team on this side of Tampa Bay.

Crist called it tragic when talks with the previous Rays ownership fell apart, and said the city needs to revisit that issue first, given how much it affects redevelopment in the area.

“I think what we need to do is try to keep the baseball here,” Crist said. “It’s important to me, and it’s important to a lot of our residents who worked very hard to get that team here in the first place.”

Crist’s comments came during the Residents of West St. Pete Mayoral Forum, sponsored by the Stronger Together St. Pete Foundation and Spectrum Bay News 9 at the President Barack Obama Library on Wednesday evening.

The event was billed as a conversation rather than a debate, with candidates asked to avoid personal attacks. But the first question of the night quickly exposed one of the sharpest divides in the race, and the distinctions only mounted as the night moved along.

Ashley Moody introduces Senate measure to curtail fraud in federal childcare grants

U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody is pushing legislation to reduce fraud in federal childcare program funding distribution.

The Stop Child Care Scams Act is designed to establish “integrity provisions” for the Child Care and Development Block Grant program. The grant system was enacted in 1990 and governs childcare program funding for low-income families while supporting those programs through state agencies for childcare expenses.

But Moody said some funding recipients are taking advantage of the money, and fraud is growing. Her measure would mandate that the Administration for Children and Families under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) withhold block grant funds from states that don’t follow anti-fraud stipulations.

“Federal childcare assistance should help working families afford safe and reliable care — not fatten the pockets of fraudsters. As a mom, I know how important it is for parents to trust that these programs are serving children and families, not wasting taxpayer dollars,” Moody said.

Gov. DeSantis celebrates Citizens insurance improvements

Gov. Ron DeSantis says Florida’s insurer of last resort has gone from being a point of concern just a few years ago to being on solid footing today.

He noted that the Citizens Property Insurance Corporation secured reinsurance at a cost “30% lower than last year,” allowing for “the biggest reduction in rates in the history of the program,” with an expectation of “more reduction going forward.”

This comes after reductions of up to 10% in 2025.

Citizens spent $276.5 million on $1.29 billion of new placement and $1.53 billion of multiyear coverage from 2025. The company has also benefited from policies being offloaded to private insurers. Its account load dropped to 274,000 this year from 1.4 million in 2023.

DeSantis in December 2022 signed SB 2A, which reduced litigation while eliminating one-way attorneys fees, addressing issues that supporters of the legislation said forced many insurers out of business in Florida.