When is Florida's tax-free holiday for hurricane supplies? Will legislators ever agree?
Meteorologists with NOAA, AccuWeather and Colorado State University all agree: the 2025 hurricane is predicted to be above average.
That's not a good sign when, based on a 30-year period from 1991 to 2020, an average Atlantic hurricane season has 14 named storms, seven hurricanes, and three major hurricanes.
➤ Weather alerts via text: Sign up to get updates about current storms and weather events by location
Every emergency official also agrees now is the time to prepare; now being before a storm is approaching Florida.
But Florida residents often use the state's disaster preparedness tax holiday to help with costs when it comes to building that important disaster supply kit.
So far, that tax-free holiday has not been approved by the Florida Legislature. Legislators planned to return to Tallahassee the week of June 2 to work out the details of the state's 2025-2026 budget.
A budget stalemate in Tallahassee resulted in a tax-free holiday for disaster supplies not happening before the start of the Atlantic hurricane season on June 1. Hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30, with the busiest time of the season running from mid-August through mid-October.
In 2024, two two-week periods were held to save residents money when purchasing emergency supplies. The first was June 1 through June 14, during the first two weeks of hurricane season.
The second was Aug. 24 through Sept. 6, which occurs during the busiest portion of hurricane season.
In past years, residents were able to purchase such supplies as batteries, tarps, portable generators, reusable ice, coolers, and gas tanks without the added burden of paying sales tax.
Even pet food and supplies were included in the tax-free holiday.
A few other states have tax-free holidays to help residents prepare for disasters. Some call it severe weather preparedness, while others focus on hurricane preparation:
Alabama: Feb. 21-23
Texas: April 26-28
Virginia: Aug. 1-3
A dispute between GOP state House and Senate leaders hijacked the disaster supplies sales tax holiday Florida residents have been used to.
Just two days before the June 1 start of hurricane season, legislative leaders announced a preliminary spending deal had been struck. Lawmakers are scheduled to return to Tallahassee the week of June 2 and to work out the details of the state's 2025-26 budget.
What that will mean for Florida residents remains to be seen.
Memos released to news media mentioned plans for "permanent sales tax exemptions targeted toward Florida families" but didn't mention specific tax holidays.
DeSantis, who included the hurricane sales tax holiday in his budget recommendations, said he wants lawmakers to include it in any final budget.
House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, has pushed for an overall reduction in the state's sales tax for all items, moving it from 6% to 5.25%, instead of having specific sales tax holidays. The Senate included a sales tax holiday that would have run May 15-31 in its tax package.
In his budget, DeSantis proposed several sales tax holidays, including two 14-day periods for disaster preparedness. He projected the savings would equal $72 million on hurricane supplies.
The 2025 sales tax holidays proposed by DeSantis must be approved by the Florida Legislature, but House and Senate leaders have deadlocked over the budget this year.
➤ New to hurricanes? Everything to know about NOAA tips from Hurricane Preparedness Week
Prepare now, before a hurricane is coming. Break it down into steps:
Assemble a disaster supplies kit
Check your home. Look at roof, shutters, garage door, trees, loose items, etc.
Determine your evacuation zone and whether you live in a flood-prone area
Look over your insurance coverage
Go to FEMA's Flood Risk website, floodsmart.gov/flood-risk and enter your ZIP code.
➤ Know your risks from wind and water
Go to the Florida Department of Emergency Management's Know Your Zone website and enter your address.
➤ Know your risks from wind and water
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30.
Ninety-seven percent of tropical cyclone activity occurs during this time period, NOAA said.
➤ National Hurricane Center tracking new tropical wave. Wet week ahead for Florida
We will provide tropical weather coverage daily until Nov. 30 to keep you informed and prepared. Download your local site's app to ensure you're always connected to the news. And look for our special subscription offers here.
Contributor: Gray Rohrer, USA Today Network-Florida
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida hurricane supply kit: When is tax-free holiday?
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The governor's office did not respond to questions about why the governor is increasing the pace of executions now and whether Trump's policies are playing a role. Deciding who lives and who dies Little is publicly known about how the governor decides whose death warrant to sign and when, a process critics have called 'secretive' and 'arbitrary.' According to the Florida Department of Corrections, there are 266 people currently on death row, including two men in their 80s, both of whom have been awaiting their court-ordered fate for more than 40 years. Speaking at the press conference in May, DeSantis said it's his 'obligation' to oversee executions, which he hopes provide 'some closure' to victims' families. 'Any time we go forward, I'm convinced that not only was the verdict correct, but that this punishment is absolutely appropriate under the circumstances,' DeSantis said. US ranks alongside Iran and Saudi Arabia for executions For years, the U.S. has ranked alongside Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Egypt as among the countries carrying out the highest number of confirmed executions. China is thought to execute more of its citizens than any other nation, although the exact totals are considered a state secret, according to the non-profit Death Penalty Information Center. Robin Maher, the center's executive director, says elected officials in the U.S. have long used the death penalty as a 'political tool,' adding it's 'a way of embellishing their own tough-on-crime credentials.' Florida executions vary year to year In 2024, DeSantis signed one death warrant. From 2020-2022, Florida didn't carry out a single execution. In 2023, DeSantis oversaw six — the highest number during his time in office until this year. 2023 was also the year the governor challenged Trump for the Republican presidential nomination. There are a number of reasons why the rate of executions may vary from one administration to the next, said Mark Schlakman, an attorney and Florida State University professor who advised then-governor Lawton Chiles on the death penalty. The availability of staff resources, the tempo of lengthy legal appeals, and court challenges against the death penalty itself can all play a role, Schlakman said, as well as a governor's 'sensibilities.' 'The one person who can stop this' One execution after another, opponents of the death penalty hold vigils in the Florida capitol, outside the governor's mansion, and near the state prison that houses the death chamber, as people of faith across the state pray for mercy, healing and justice. Suzanne Printy, a volunteer with the group Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, has hand-delivered thousands of petitions to DeSantis' office, but says they seem to have no effect. Still, Printy keeps praying. 'He's the one person who can stop this,' she said. ___
