Latest news with #R-Miami
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Florida House leader calls for volunteers for redistricting committee
TALLAHASSEE — Under mounting pressure from President Trump to get more Republicans elected to Congress, Florida House Speaker Danny Perez has taken the rare step of putting together a committee to look at redistricting. The announcement comes the same day Trump said he wants Congress to conduct a mid-decade census that would exclude residents who are not in the country legally. In a memo to House members Thursday, Perez, R-Miami, stopped short of calling for a special session on redistricting, saying the Legislature didn't have the time or resources. Instead, he said, he was looking for volunteers to sit on a special committee on redistricting that would convene in October when all the other interim legislative committees are set to begin hearings. 'As many of you are aware, there are national conversations ongoing in other states related to midterm redistricting,' Perez said, noting that a recent Florida Supreme Court ruling in the Black Voters Matter case raises questions about some of the provisions of the Fair Districts amendments voters overwhelmingly approved in 2010. The approval of those amendments required lawmakers to draw political boundaries that aren't gerrymandered to keep themselves or their party in power or deprive minorities access to the candidates of their choice. And they must be as compact and contiguous as possible. The amendments provided the legal grounds for Common Cause to sue the state over its 2012 congressional map and a subsequent map it was ordered to redraw, ultimately leading to the court approving a congressional map in 2015 drawn up by Common Cause and the League of Women Voters. That map was adopted in 2016. In upholding DeSantis' 2022 map, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the federal rule against racial gerrymandering had sway over the state's Fair Districts amendments' non-diminishment clause about protecting minority districts. 'Exploring these questions now, at the mid-decade point, would potentially allow us to seek legal guidance from our supreme court without the uncertainty associated with deferring those questions until after the next decennial census and reapportionment,' Perez said. Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, warned that redrawing 'Congressional maps outside of the standard post‑census cycle threatens fair representation, undermines the intent of our democratic system, and risks silencing our diverse communities.' Perez said it was an unexpected opportunity, but the Legislature doesn't have the 'capacity to engage in the full redistricting process' as it did from 2020 through 2022. 'Thus, we will focus our inquiry on the Congressional map, which was the subject of the recent Florida Supreme Court case, and any relevant legal questions,' Perez said. House members have until Aug. 15 to apply to the committee, whose members will be announced along with regular interim committee assignments in September, he said. Anyone who has talked about running for Congress or made statements favoring or disfavoring a particular incumbent or political party, which is prohibited by Florida law, will be automatically be disqualified, he added. Trump has already called on several GOP-controlled states to increase the number of Republican seats. Texas was the first state to hold a special session on redistricting to add three to five new Republican seats, a process that stalled when Democrat legislators left the state and prevented a quorum to vote on the new map. Gov. Ron DeSantis has also said several times that he would like the Florida Legislature to convene a special session on redistricting, believing they could get an extra three to five Republican seats out of it. Republicans gained four seats with the 2022 map drawn by DeSantis, giving them a 20-8 majority over Democrats. Some political experts have warned such a move could backfire and create more narrow Republican-leaning swing seats than there are now, which could help Democrats regain some seats they lost with the current map.
Miami Herald
19-06-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
They talked big about making Florida more affordable, but lawmakers disappointed
Florida lawmakers had one big job this year and, with some exceptions, they failed at it: They didn't address the lack of affordability that's forcing people to leave the state, especially in expensive areas like South Florida. The passage of a $115 billion state budget this week marked the end of an unusually long and tense legislative session in which Senate and House leaders disagreed over funding matters. We're glad they came to a consensus, but 2025 did not turn out to be the year of affordability as advertised when the session began in early March. The Herald Editorial Board met with dozens of candidates, Republican and Democratic, ahead of last year's legislative elections. Back then, virtually all of them told us that the biggest concern they were hearing from voters was the exorbitant price of homeowners' insurance and housing. As the Editorial Board wrote on March 4: 'Lawmakers will return to their districts at the end of the two-month session and explain whether they have done enough to address what's behind the increased cost of living in Florida.' They will have a lot of explaining to do. To be fair, the Legislature did make disaster-relief sales-tax cuts year round and extended the back-to-school sales tax holiday for a full month, the Herald reported. These cuts will go into effect every year without the need for legislative approval. Lawmakers also eliminated the business-rent tax, which is supposed to help small businesses, and doubled the funding to address food insecurity. These measures will provide some relief for Floridians, but, as the Herald reported, most tax breaks passed this year actually went toward businesses, many of which have an army of lobbyists in Tallahassee. For example, lawmakers eliminated the aviation fuel tax, helping airlines, and reduced a tax on cardrooms operated by parimutuels. House Speaker Danny Perez, R-Miami, told the Herald that the sales tax holidays are a 'win' for consumers — 'I believe we batted 1,000,' he said. (Perez originally wanted to reduce the state's sales tax from 6% to 5.25% but that didn't make into the budget.) Perez and his colleagues are naive if they think their constituents will be satisfied. Even longtime homeowners cannot keep up with the cost of everything, especially, property insurance. A few years ago, the Legislature passed a reform package that made it harder to sue insurance companies, which said they were forced to pass their high legal costs onto consumers in the form of higher premiums. President Donald Trump once blasted the changes as a 'bailout' to insurers and even Perez hinted the reforms were a giveaway to the industry, the Herald reported. After years of instability, Florida's insurance market has stabilized with premium increases slowing down, but the crisis for homeowners is far from over and many are paying more than they can afford. Last November, the Herald reported that Republican leaders were surprising their colleagues with 'tough talk' on insurance companies and the affordability crisis. '[Floridians] don't want our state's insurance laws to be written by insurance companies,' Perez told the House. The political appetite for more accountability grew when, in March, the Herald/Times uncovered a 2022 study that found that insurance executives distributed $680 million in dividends to shareholders and diverted billions more to affiliate companies while justifying big premium increases to cover their losses. Perez even ordered legislative hearings to look into the issue. In the end, no meaningful comprehensive reform on the insurance industry passed, even though Republicans put forward proposals to demand more transparency on the compensation of insurance executives. That legislation died and would have, according to sponsors, sped up the insurance claims process and cooled rates. Lawmakers always have next year to tackle broader reforms. Caution, in some cases, is needed. Lawmakers, for example, did not try to eliminate property taxes as Gov. Ron DeSantis wanted, which would have wreaked havoc in local governments and public schools, choosing instead to study the proposal. The real issue making Florida increasingly too expensive for those who aren't millionaires remains the cost of owning a home and insuring it. That hasn't changed. Floridians need meaningful reforms ASAP. Click here to send the letter.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Gov. DeSantis vows veto: 'Florida last' tax cuts 'dead on arrival,' he says
Gov. Ron DeSantis said May 7 he would veto a proposed cut to the state sales tax, claiming it would jeopardize his push for cuts to property taxes. 'Any 'Florida last' tax package is going to be dead on arrival,' he told reporters at an event in Tampa. 'We are not going to kneecap our ability to provide you property tax relief just so we can give a little bit of a benefit to Canadian tourists. That is not going to happen, so you can take that to the bank.' The veto threat could upend what was called a 'framework' for a budget deal agreed to by House and Senate leaders, who failed to reach an agreement during the 60-day regular session that ended May 2. Lawmakers are set to return to Tallahassee May 12 to hammer out the details on a likely $115 billion budget. But the framework includes a $1.6 billion cut to the state sales tax, lowering it from 6% to 5.75%. The total tax cut package would come to $2.8 billion, but what it will include is yet to be determined. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (left), House Speaker Daniel Perez. DeSantis has been feuding with House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, since the start of the year on several issues, including tax cuts. While Perez originally pushed for a 0.75% cut to the sales tax, saving consumers about $5 billion, DeSantis has insisted on a property tax cut. In a statement responding to DeSantis' remarks, Perez said lawmakers could cut the sales tax and property taxes and rejected the Governor's framing of the issue. 'I'm concerned about how confused the governor seems to be. He is threatening to veto the largest state tax cut in history, and his excuse is that it limits our ability to cut local property taxes? That's bizarre," Perez said. "We can cut the sales tax by the largest amount in the history of our country and place a ballot initiative on property taxes on the 2026 ballot. This isn't about whether we can do both – it's about whether we will." After floating the idea of eliminating property taxes completely, but without a concrete plan to do so, DeSantis unveiled a proposal on March 31 at a conference with Florida Realtors in Orlando to provide up to $1,000 for homestead property owners. Under that plan, the state would pay for the portion of property taxes that go to K-12 public schools, backfilling it with state money and giving homestead owners a rebate. That would allow homeowners to get the rebate later this year, which would be faster than the normal route of property tax cuts, where the Legislature puts a measure on the ballot in 2026 and, if voters approve, homeowners would see the cuts in 2027. More: The winners and losers (so far) of the 2025 Florida legislative session But neither the House or the Senate included that plan in its budget, and it doesn't appear it will be part of talks between chambers next week. Perez panned that plan in his statement, likening it to a proposal Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom would support: "I give the governor credit for starting this debate, but he's had months to produce an actual plan to lower property tax rates, and we're still waiting. An imaginary plan can't cut real taxes." "The Governor's team would like to respond that they do have a plan: send $1,000 checks from the state treasury as a fake refund for local property taxes. In fairness, it is consistent with the governor's record. He likes these Newsom-style 'free' money giveaways. Giving away $1,000 checks in a way that doesn't actually lower property taxes isn't a Band-Aid much less a solution," Perez added. The House advanced an alternative plan to use tourist development taxes to backfill a cut in property taxes next year, but the Senate is unlikely to accept that proposal as it also includes eliminating tourist development councils, which the tourist industry argues are needed to keep people flocking to the state. The lack of action on property taxes has angered DeSantis, who dubbed Perez's chamber the 'House of Pettiness' at one point in the session. DeSantis has emphasized that his property tax proposal would benefit Florida residents more, as opposed to a sales tax cut which he says would disproportionately help tourists. In the 2021-22 budget year, state economists estimated that households paid 66% of sales taxes, with tourists paying 16% and businesses paying 18%. That was at a time when tourism was still rebounding from the COVID-19 pandemic doldrums. DeSantis also claimed a sales tax cut would be used by House leaders to claim there isn't enough revenue to pass property tax cuts. 'We're going in a tangent that is not going to help people in any meaningful way that are Florida residents but will put the final nail in the coffin of any hope to do property tax relief,' he said. Perez, though, is standing by his sales tax cut. "The House has negotiated a tax package that will put $30 billion back into the economy over the next ten years," Perez said. "If the Governor wants to veto that, he's welcome to explain to the voters why he thinks they do not deserve actual and meaningful tax relief. Maybe the truth is he just wants to spend all of it and be the only one who decides how.' (This story was updated to add new information.) Gray Rohrer is a reporter with the USA TODAY Network-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at grohrer@ Follow him on X: @GrayRohrer. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Budget battle erupts: DeSantis torpedoes tax deal with veto threat
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
As DeSantis and lawmakers flail, gridlock grips Florida Capitol in session's final days
Florida has a $2 billion surplus, a thriving economy, and one party controls the executive, legislative and judicial branches. Lawmakers should be putting the finishing touches on a budget at this point in the legislative session, originally set to end May 2. Instead, budget talks are at a standstill, claims of 'defamation' and 'fraud' are being slung among Republican leaders – and Democrats can't avoid dysfunction either. Gov. Ron DeSantis, his agenda largely thwarted by House GOP leaders and several of his appointees rejected by the Senate, has accused House Republicans of 'stabbing voters in the back' and 'sabotaging' the progress made by the state during his term in office. House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, has set an aggressive stance on a range of budget and policy areas that's resulted in fierce clashes with DeSantis and the Senate. He's probed a payment of $10 million to the Hope Florida Foundation, a charity associated with First Lady Casey DeSantis, that was funneled to a political committee controlled by DeSantis' then-chief of staff James Uthmeier, now Florida attorney general. Perez also debuted a plan to cut the state sales tax from 6% to 5.25% midway through session, contributing to the $4.4 billion gap between the chambers' budget plans. On April 24, Perez called some of the offers from the Senate to bridge the divide 'patronizing.' 'We disagree right now on the current state of our conversation,' Perez told reporters April 24. 'I don't believe the way we see the world is the same way Senator Albritton sees the world.' Unable to reach an agreement on top-line spending numbers, Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, said April 24 lawmakers won't get a budget deal done in time to end the session by the scheduled May 2 end date. The stalemate between the chambers extends beyond the budget. With one week left in the 60-day legislative session, lawmakers have sent 18 bills to DeSantis' desk and he's signed 11 of them into law. Two of them (HB 575, HB 549) changed every reference to the Gulf of Mexico in state laws to the Gulf of America, in line with President Donald Trump's executive order renaming the body of water bordering Florida to the west, and directing state agencies and new textbooks to do the same. DeSantis is accustomed to getting most of what he wants from the Legislature, but entering the last two years of his term in office, he was initially rejected in his push for stricter immigration enforcement laws when he called the Legislature to a special session in January. He eventually reached a compromise bill with Perez and Albritton, but the episode showed his agenda wouldn't enjoy a smooth ride through the Legislature as it had done in the past. That has proved to be the case. DeSantis has bemoaned the lack of progress on a range of issues on his agenda: Resolving looming condo assessments, cutting property taxes and codifying the Hope Florida program into law and placing the program directly under his office. The Hope Florida bills were officially declared dead by Albritton on April 24, after a review by the House revealed the $10 million payment was part of a Medicaid vendor settlement that went to the Hope Florida Foundation, a nonprofit raising funds on behalf of the program. The payment was part of a $67 million settlement in October 2024 between the state and Centene, a health insurer and one of the vendors operating Florida's Medicaid managed care program – a contract worth billions of dollars per year. The settlement was about alleged overpayments for prescription drugs. Lawmakers, though, weren't told of the settlement payment to the Agency for Health Care Administration, the department that runs the state's Medicaid program. And the Hope Florida Foundation gave the $10 million within days to two nonprofit groups that quickly funneled the money to Keep Florida Clean, a political committee run by Uthmeier. The committee helped defeat Amendment 3 last year, which would have legalized recreational marijuana. DeSantis campaigned heavily against it. Rep. Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola, chairman of the House Health Care Budget Subcommittee that investigated the settlement payment, has called the maneuver of the funds from the Medicaid settlement through to a political committee controlled by Uthmeier a 'fraud.' Jeff Aaron, an attorney for Uthmeier who also advised Hope Florida Foundation leaders, said the accusation amounts to 'defamation.' Aaron declined to appear before Andrade's committee, citing attorney-client privilege. When the House and Senate passed their budgets earlier this month the House plan was nearly $113 billion, or $4.4 billion lower than the Senate version and $5.6 billion less than the current budget. Much of the difference comes from the House move to cut the sales tax by 0.75%, saving consumers in Florida $5.5 billion but costing state coffers $5 billion and local governments about $500 million. Albritton released a counter-proposal to eliminate the sales tax entirely on clothing items of less than $75. Perez has insisted on an overall reduction in the sales tax and said the Senate didn't move toward their higher tax cut plan during negotiations. But Albritton is wary of cutting taxes by too much, handing off shortfalls in future years to later legislative leaders: 'Make no mistake about it, I am committed to passing historic, unprecedented tax relief. However, it won't be at the expense of the long-term financial stability of our state,' he said. State economists project a nearly $7 billion shortfall in two years if current spending years continue. The surge in revenues and in spending brought by an infusion of federal money and from inflation, which was a boon to Florida's coffers that rely heavily on sales taxes, has brought fears of a budget imbalance as revenues flatten out over time. For Perez, though, the answer is to cut spending as well as slash taxes. Albritton has countered that Florida's growing population means it will need more resources to provide services and pay for vital programs such as schools, environmental projects, understaffed prisons, health care and infrastructure. Apart from the budget, the chambers are at odds with each other on major issues, too. Bills to give condo owners a reprieve from looming large assessments have major differences. The assessments stem from legislation passed in the wake of the 2021 collapse of the Champlain Towers building in Sunrise left 98 dead, which required condo associations to hold more in reserves and undergo inspections for needed maintenance and repairs. The House, too, has moved to repeal laws passed in 2022 and 2023 to eliminate or reduce lawyers fees for suits against insurers. DeSantis, Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky and insurance companies have touted as essential to limiting lawsuit costs and tamping down rates, which had skyrocketed in recent years. The Senate hasn't advanced those measures, leading to another stalemate. Stuck in superminority status, Democrats had been enjoying some schadenfreude watching the intra-Republican squabbling. At least until the afternoon of April 24. That's when Senate Democratic Leader Jason Pizzo of Miami-Dade County announced he was stepping down as leader and leaving the Democratic Party. He'll stay in office, but as a "no party affiliated" member – the first in decades. He declared the Democratic Party in Florida 'dead,' saying he 'long had a feeling, confirmed I think empirically by seven years of service in this chamber, that partisanship holds us back rather than propels us forward. Our constituents are craving practical leaders, not political hacks.' The condemnation from Democrats was swift and fierce: 'The party needs strong Democrats who are ready to stand up to Trump, not big egos more interested in performative outrage than true leadership,' House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell of Tampa stated. 'Legislative Democrats will be fine without him.' The lingering animus within the Legislature means it's an open question how the current gridlock gets unstuck. House budget chief Rep. Lawrence McClure, R-Dover, said they'll keep working to break the impasse. 'We have a roadmap: Keep having conversations (and) iron out the differences,' McClure told reporters April 24. Gray Rohrer is a reporter with the USA TODAY Network-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at grohrer@ Follow him on X: @GrayRohrer. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Session snarled by controversies, GOP infighting with DeSantis
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
In DeSantis feud with Republicans over Hope Florida, there's more to the story
A political mystery lies at the heart of the Hope Florida scandal. Set aside the issues lawmakers from both parties have raised with the nearly $10 million in Medicaid settlement money that went to the Hope Florida Foundation — a transfer some Republicans have suggested was illegal. Set aside the Hope Florida Foundation's missing paperwork, or that Gov. Ron DeSantis wanted Hope Florida enshrined in Florida law despite a lack of accountability. Even set aside the House abruptly ending its official inquiry into the foundation on Thursday. None of that fully answers this question: Why did Republicans go so hard after the governor? Two years ago, dozens of Republicans in the House, including many still serving today, endorsed DeSantis for president. House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, was among them. This month alone, DeSantis has taken numerous shots at Perez, calling his leadership 'terrible' and 'rotten' and saying House leadership is 'colluding with the left, they are colluding with the media to try to sabotage all the great success that Florida has had over these last six years.' What happened? The Tampa Bay Times interviewed more than a dozen lobbyists, lawmakers and political operatives to try to answer that question. Those sympathetic to DeSantis' side say it's all political, part of the 2026 midterm jockeying. Others say House Republicans are tired of being steamrolled by a governor who runs Tallahassee not with a deft personal touch but with an iron fist. 'This seems like a story about me versus the governor. And that could not be further from the truth,' Perez wrote in an email via a spokesperson. 'The Legislature and the governor are meant to be partners, check and balances in a representative government. This is not about power — absolutely not. It's about how we all work together for outcomes that serve the people of Florida." Under Perez, the House has moved to check DeSantis' power numerous times. Lawmakers publicly rejected the governor's immigration proposal during a high-profile special session. They passed a bill limiting his power to pick university presidents and voted to overturn some of his budget vetoes. The House's renewed assertiveness has put DeSantis at odds with lawmakers who used to be his biggest allies. Rep. Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola, endorsed DeSantis for president in 2023. He's sponsored the governor's pet bills, including one that would have loosened defamation protections for news outlets. He supported other high-profile moves by the governor, such as his decision to fly Venezuelan migrants from Texas to Massachusetts. Even while cheering on DeSantis, there was tension behind the scenes, according to Andrade. He said DeSantis' team 'threatened' him into endorsing the governor for president, not-so-subtly reminding lawmakers that DeSantis could always veto projects for those who don't toe the line. (DeSantis' office did not respond to requests for comment.) 'I've always known that he's selfish and sometimes condescending,' Andrade said. Andrade kept supporting the governor because they aligned on policy. But in recent years, as DeSantis' national profile has grown, he's become more insular, and things have started to slip through the cracks, Andrade said. The governor's inner circle was never large, but the Hope Florida scandal underscores how small it's become. The same man who ran the governor's presidential campaign, James Uthmeier, was also his chief of staff — and the person he deputized to defeat Amendment 3, which would have allowed the sale of recreational marijuana. Andrade, who has led the charge on the House's investigation into Hope Florida, has alleged that Uthmeier told two advocacy groups to solicit grants from the Hope Florida Foundation. The foundation had just gotten millions in an unrelated state settlement. After the groups received the money from Hope Florida, they sent millions of dollars to a political committee controlled by Uthmeier that was created to defeat Amendment 3. If Uthmeier orchestrated these transactions, they would have amounted to a stunning series of state-funded political maneuvers from the then-chief of staff. Uthmeier is now attorney general. To Andrade, the governor's team played fast and loose with millions in state money. Those in DeSantis' orbit view the fight with House members differently. Some Republicans have never been true fans of the governor, they say. They accuse Andrade of acting not in the public interest but on behalf of the marijuana companies that lost at the ballot box in November. Now that DeSantis is on his way out of office — he's termed out in 2027 — some politicians see an opportunity, the governor's supporters say. 'The speaker wants more power. Where is he going to get it? He's going to take it from the governor,' said Rep. Mike Caruso, R-Delray Beach, one of the few remaining vocal DeSantis supporters in the House. 'No Floridian voted on this power grab.' The speaker, who is picked by the House's members, has considerable sway over his or her colleagues by determining what bills get heard, how committees get staffed and whether local budget requests get fulfilled. Perez said he's empowered representatives to express themselves this session. But Caruso disputes that, saying Perez is forcing others in the House to support him in the battle against DeSantis. The way he tells it, Caruso has paid a steep price for siding with the governor over Perez. Fourth-term Republicans like Caruso usually get to run committees and pass numerous consequential bills. After he sided with DeSantis during a special session earlier this year on immigration, Caruso was stripped of his position as committee chairperson. None of his bills have gotten so much as a committee hearing this session. Caruso blamed Perez. 'We often shuffle members around in committee positions based on a member's interests and skill set,' Perez wrote in an email. So is the House pushing back on DeSantis to establish a culture of good governance? Or is there something else at play? Again, depends on whom you ask. Hope Florida is undeniably politically charged. DeSantis needs a way to stay nationally relevant ahead of a potential 2028 presidential run. One option is to have his wife, Casey, win the Governor's Mansion in 2026. That makes Hope Florida a rich target for those looking to take DeSantis down a peg. It's Casey DeSantis' signature initiative. The program, as described by the governor, aligns perfectly with the conservative vision for government. It's meant to help Floridians get off of government assistance by connecting them with nonprofits like churches and other community aid organizations. By casting suspicion on the program's effectiveness, Florida House leaders are removing a springboard from which Casey DeSantis could launch her gubernatorial campaign. (Republican U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, who has announced his candidacy for governor, has been mum on the scandal.) 'I think it's all just to throw water on the idea that the governor's wife, our first lady, Casey DeSantis, might run for governor,' Caruso said. 'It's to taint her persona.' DeSantis' usual critics have pounced on the Hope Florida kerfuffle. Roger Stone and Laura Loomer, two far-right Donald Trump loyalists who have never forgiven DeSantis for challenging Trump in 2024, have each had choice words for the governor on social media. DeSantis' defenders may have their own political motivations, too. Caruso, who's termed out of office, has been rumored to be under consideration for the open lieutenant governor spot. (Caruso said he is interested in that job, but denied that's why he's sticking up for the governor.) Uthmeier wants a full term as attorney general. He's denied wrongdoing and defended the DeSantis team. House Republicans insist they don't care about 2026. Perez said the idea that he is trying to undermine the first lady is 'absolutely false.' Andrade echoed that sentiment. But even in doing so, he took a shot at Casey DeSantis. 'I don't care if she runs for governor,' he said. 'I would say her track record on executive administration is terrible if she's claiming Hope Florida as her track record.'
