| | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard and Isa Domínguez | | Presented by |  | | | | 
Lawmakers know the cost of living is crushing residents, so they’re looking at other ways to limit Floridians’ property tax bills, though they’re expected to consider their options and come up with a single plan. | Rebecca Blackwell/AP | Good morning and welcome to Thursday. Gov. RON DESANTIS wants property taxes gone — or reduced, at the very least. State lawmakers started looking at the big picture of what it would take during a state Senate Finance and Tax Committee meeting Wednesday. Some came out of the meeting skeptical and wanting a lot more information, as local governments use property taxes to pay for schools, police officers, firefighters, waste management and many other services. Any cut in funding could impact those services or cause local governments to raise taxes elsewhere. At the same time, lawmakers know the cost of living is crushing residents, so they’re looking at other ways to limit Floridians’ property tax bills, though they’re expected to consider their options and come up with a plan rather than advance multiple measures at the same time. State Sen. BRYAN AVILA (R-Hialeah Gardens), who chairs the Finance and Tax Committee, said during Wednesday’s meeting that members would be “taking time to look at each proposal” that’s been introduced. Here’s a look at some of the ideas lawmakers are discussing: Increasing the homestead exemption. Legislation from state Sen. BLAISE INGOGLIA (R-Spring Hill) would ask voters to consider raising the homestead exemption. Right now, homeowners can apply to have the first $25,000 of their primary residence’s assessed value exempt from property taxes, then the second $25,000 exempted from non-school taxes. Ingoglia wants to raise the cut off to $75,000 and have it indexed every year with inflation, which he estimates would cut taxes by $2.6 billion. He told Playbook the current exemption was “really not offering any relief,” whereas with his bill, “as people’s homes go up in value, so does their homestead exemption.” He would, however, support going even further. “We should be as aggressive as we can with the largest property tax cut that we can pass through constitutional amendment,” he said. Going beyond homesteads. A bill in the state House, from Rep. RYAN CHAMBERLIN (R-Belleview), would have a constitutional amendment go before voters asking whether they want to raise property tax exemptions on homes to $100,000. It would apply not just to primary residences, but to all property. Limiting assessments. A couple proposals have been introduced to ensure people don’t get taxed more just because their home is worth more after they harden it against storms. Creating carve outs for vulnerable groups. Legislation from state Sen. ANA MARIA RODRIGUEZ (R-Doral) would cap off the assessed value of a homestead property to the amount it was the year a resident turned 65, provided they meet income thresholds. Limiting how much local governments can collect. Another bill from Chamberlin that he’s working on with state Sen. JAY COLLINS (R-Tampa) would only allow localities to increase their property tax collections by 2 percent year-over-year. Anything extra that’s collected would need to be rebated to residents or used to pay off debt. Increase early-payment tax discounts. Under current Florida law, homeowners get a discount if they pay their taxes earlier than their due date of March 31. The property tax discounts are tiered by month, with people getting a 4 percent reduction if they pay their taxes in November and others getting a 1 percent discount when they pay in February. State Sen. KATHLEEN PASSIDOMO (R-Naples), urged her colleagues during Wednesday’s committee hearing to “start being more creative” with ideas for tackling the issue, floating higher discounts when taxes are paid early as a possibility of what might be considered. Start with a study. Lawmakers could also decide to punt the decision until they learn more. State Sen. JONATHAN MARTIN (R-Fort Myers) and Chamberlin filed legislation to have state officials estimate what could replace the property tax under a full repeal. — Gary Fineout contributed. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget that Playbook should look at? Get in touch at: kleonard@politico.com.
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Florida first lady Casey DeSantis speaks during a Patient Freedom news conference Wednesday, March 5, 2025, in Tampa, Florida. | Chris O'Meara/AP | EYES EMOJI — Another sign of a gubernatorial run ahead? State Sen. DANNY BURGESS (R-Zephyrhills) introduced two bills on Hope Florida — the initiative led by Florida first lady CASEY DESANTIS. One would move the program under the jurisdiction of the governor’s office and the other would exempt personal identifying information of people who participate in Hope Florida from public records. MANDATE PROTECTIONS — “DeSantis on Wednesday called on Florida lawmakers to make a series of pandemic-era medical protections meant to block federal Covid-19 vaccine mandates permanent, as state health officials scramble to address a potential measles outbreak in Miami-Dade County,” reports POLITICO’s Arek Sarkissian. “The protections are due to expire in June, and legislation sought by the Florida Department of Health in this year’s session seeks to make them permanent. DeSantis said during a news conference in Tampa that although the pandemic has died down since the Legislature first approved the protections in 2021, he cannot predict future crises.” CORPORATE SHOWDOWN — “Fresh off a newly minted lawsuit against Target, the state’s massive pension fund is preparing to be more aggressive about suing companies and corporations over everything from actions deemed detrimental to shareholders to corporate governance,” reports POLITICO’s Gary Fineout. “DeSantis and the two other trustees who oversee the roughly $200 billion Florida Retirement System on Wednesday agreed to set aside $20 million for a litigation fund to hire law firms to represent the state in securities-related lawsuits against businesses. “The move came after another vote to officially ratify last month's Target lawsuit, which alleges the retailer misled investors and created a backlash over an LGBTQ marketing campaign.” DOGE IN FLORIDA SCHOOLS — “State lawmakers have Florida’s public universities in their sights as they — and DeSantis — look to scale back spending with their own DOGE-style efforts,” reports POLITICO’s Andrew Atterbury. “The state House, on the Legislature’s opening day, began probing university expenses by scrutinizing costs racked up by former University of Florida President and Sen. Ben Sasse, alongside other schools that were questioned in state audits.”
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| | | FLORIDA CRYSTALS LAWSUIT — The Clarkson Law Firm on Wednesday filed a class-action lawsuit in federal court in California against Florida Crystals, one of the state's top sugar producers, over burning sugar cane as part of its harvest practices. The lawsuit claims Florida Crystals and the Fanjul Corp. violate consumer laws by stating their products are earth-friendly despite pollution from burning. In response, Florida Crystals told POLITICO it is the only sugar grower in the United States whose products are certified "regenerative" organic, meaning they conserve soil, biodiversity and water. — Bruce Ritchie — “Democrats see Republican leaders in Legislature borrowing a lot of their ideas,” reports Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics. — “Florida’s demand for immigration aid surges amid policy changes,” reports Juan Carlos Chavez of the Tampa Bay Times. — “Florida groups call for clarity on immigration enforcement at schools,” by Central Florida Public Media’s Danielle Prieur. — “Florida’s undocumented students could be banned from most public universities,” by Central Florida Public Media's Danielle Prieur. — “Civil, voting rights groups condemn DeSantis’ push to restrict ballot initiatives,” by Jackie Llanos of the Florida Phoenix.
| | CAMPAIGN MODE | | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Democrat JOSH WEIL, a progressive congressional candidate in the 6th District, is out today with his first TV ad of the season. Weil is running against President DONALD TRUMP-endorsed state Sen. RANDY FINE (R-Melbourne) for the deep-red district’s seat, which opened up after Rep. MIKE WALTZ became national security adviser. The 30-second ad describes Weil as “one bad-ass candidate.” The spot shows Weil, who’s a teacher, with his students and sons.
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The 30-second ad describes Weil as “one bad-ass candidate.” The spot shows Weil, who’s a teacher, with his students and sons. | Democrat Josh Weil, a progressive congressional candidate running during a special election in the 6th District. | “I’m not a career politician. I’m a math teacher, and I know the numbers aren’t adding up for Florida families,” Weil says in the ad, in which he promises to help lower grocery costs and protect Social Security. It’s a $250,000 spot running through March 12 on broadcast, cable and digital channels, per spokesperson JOE CAIAZZO. The general election is April 1. UTHMEIER CHALLENGER? — “In a hypothetical primary matchup against Attorney General James Uthmeier, [Matt] Gaetz was favored 39 percent to 21 percent, according to a recent survey of likely Republican voters by Tony Fabrizio, one of the nation's top pollsters who works for Trump and several GOP clients,” reports Axios’ Marc Caputo. Gaetz is considering running but “a race against Uthmeier would be no slam dunk for Gaetz. Fabrizio's poll found 40 percent of GOP voters were undecided.” PROPOSAL ON TERM LIMITS — “In November, as Miami residents vote on a new mayor and city commissioners, they could also weigh in on a proposal to create lifetime term limits for elected officials — a major shakeup to a system that currently allows elected officials to, under the right circumstances, spend decades in City Hall,” reports Tess Riski of the Miami Herald.
| | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | | FSU ERASES DEI — “Florida State University is taking a deep dive into its websites, scrubbing them of keywords, according to a list that includes the terms ‘women,’ ‘diverse,’ ‘systemic’ and ‘cultural relevance,’” reports Tarah Jean of the Tallahassee Democrat. Whether this list came from the government or university is unclear. BROWARD RESPONDS TO DOGE PUSH — DeSantis wants to DOGE local governments like Broward County, which he claims has had a 82 percent increase in its budget, reports Lisa J. Huriash of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. The county spokesman said it is “not clear how the 82 percent figure was derived,” given general government services “have increased by 39 percent” in the last five years, “or less than 8 percent each year.” These services fund “the provision of public safety, constitutional officers, and other traditional government services.” ICE PARTNERSHIP — “Miami-Dade County jails could soon be handing out deportation orders to inmates under an agreement required under Florida law that won formal approval this week,” reports the Miami Herald’s Douglas Hanks. — “In Key West, testing shows cruise ships stir up as much sediment as a hurricane,” by NPR’s Greg Allen.
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Rick Scott has become a key Senate ally for Donald Trump. | Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP | TRUMP’S SENATE FIXER — When it comes to bringing Trump’s agenda to the Senate, Sen. RICK SCOTT (R-Fla.) has become a key “liaison in Congress,” reports Axios’ Marc Caputo. “In a sign of Scott's influence, he brought Elon Musk on Wednesday to the weekly closed-door lunches with Republican senators at the conference's steering committee, which Scott chairs.” NATURAL PARK FIRINGS — More than 750 U.S. natural park employees have lost their jobs in the wave of federal layoffs the Trump administration has ordered, reports Axios’ Alex Fitzpatrick. Florida's Everglades National Park is among those affected, losing 15 workers. — “Byron Donalds backs James Uthmeier’s probe of Andrew and Tristan Tate,” by A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics.
| | TRANSITION TIME | | — KRISTIN QUIRK has joined the Republican Party of Florida as a fundraising specialist, reports Florida Politics. She previously worked as the director of membership and partnership at the Florida Senior Living Association and served in positions in the state Senate and Florida House Majority office.
| | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | | — “Thief in Florida swallows stolen Tiffany diamond earrings worth $770,000,” per the Tampa Bay Times. BIRTHDAYS: Juan Alfonso Fernandez-Barquin, clerk of the courts of Miami-Dade County ... state Rep. Taylor Yarkosky. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | |
