Back to business: As new legislative leaders take charge, what's that mean for Florida?

The Florida Legislature returns to the Capitol Tuesday with 26 new members following an election in which voters said the high cost of living was foremost in their minds.

The 160 members of the House and Senate will meet for one day in "organization session" to begin preparing for the 2025 legislative session, which begins March 4.

The highlight of the day will be the passing of the House and Senate gavels, and thus control of the chambers, to new leaders. They, along with Gov. Ron DeSantis, will set the legislative agenda for the next two years.   

Florida has long had what's known as a state government trifecta, meaning one political party – in this case, Republicans – holds the governorship and controls both legislative chambers.

On Tuesday, state Rep. Daniel Perez, R-Miami, will be the new Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, and state Sen. Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, will become the new President of the Florida Senate.

They succeed fellow Republicans Paul Renner, who was term-limited out of the House, and Kathleen Passidomo, who remains in the Senate for two more years, now as Rules Committee chair.

The most important work the three leaders will do is come up with a annual state budget for 2025-26: The current spending plan is $116.5 billion.

But Perez, Albritton and other lawmakers said on the campaign trail voters told them the most pressing issues were the increased costs of home ownership, including property insurance. 

After Tuesday’s pomp and circumstance (expect a fair bit of speechifying and a cameo appearance by DeSantis), lawmakers will return in December for the first of several weeks of committee meetings. 

Until then, here are five things to consider before opening day of the 2025 session:

A constrained state budget?

The governor and lawmakers have been on a spending spree that could end very soon.

State economists expect Florida to collect $2.1 billion more in taxes than it will spend next year, but they warn that surplus could turn into a $6.9 billion deficit by the end of 2027 if spending continues unchecked.    

The state budget has grown by 28.6% in the last three years – the largest three-year growth in 20 years, since the 2004 housing bubble burst that created the Great Recession of 2007.   

That spending does not include $26 billion in federal pandemic-relief funds, which are not counted as state spending.  The pandemic funds are gone, however, and a new group of leaders will write next year’s budget.

Perez already has made clear he wants his members to be even more responsible with the people’s money. In a memo last week, Perez said that in the past few years, lawmakers have been spending money “excessively and indiscriminately.”       

He named state Rep. Lawrence McClure, R-Plant City, as chair of the House Budget Committee, formerly known as the Appropriations Committee. It’s where the process begins of crafting the state's annual spending blueprint; Perez said the name change represents a change in philosophy.   

To that end, McClure said he agrees with Perez that the Legislature should focus on “... opening up the budget to discover where we (can) make better, smarter choices,” he said in a statement.  

DeSantis: Lame duck no more?

Perez and Albritton will be the last of four House-Senate leadership tandems the governor will work with to implement his agenda for the state. Previous speakers and presidents had been mostly compliant with DeSantis’ objectives but this past summer a storyline emerged that the governor was struggling to maintain power in Tallahassee.   

His presidential campaign did not work out. He faced public backlash to a “Great Outdoors Initiative” that would have added golf courses and hotels at Florida state parks.  

DeSantis' approval rating among voters fell below 50% and one-time GOP allies, some who may run for governor when DeSantis is term-limited in 2026, publicly criticized the parks plan.   

Fast forward to the fall. DeSantis had a good election night. He led opposition to proposed constitutional amendments to enshrine abortion access and allow adult-use marijuana. Those measures, while they gained a majority of assent from the voting public, did not get the required 60% supermajority for passage.

And speaking of supermajorities, the GOP held on to theirs in both legislative chambers.   

As with their predecessors, Perez and Albritton no doubt have policy objectives they want to pass. Perez has mentioned reducing spending and streamlining education. Albritton has touted tax cuts, deregulation and reforms “to the legal climate and insurance industry.”   

But DeSantis sits in the corner office where any policy changes and reforms must be approved. This may be his last two legislative rodeos, but given how DeSantis flexed his muscles on election night, it's almost certainly not his last ride in politics. Watch for what the governor has to say about the new speaker’s and president’s plans.    

A passel of problems with property insurance?

Pricy premium renewal notices are still the norm two years after the Legislature tried to stabilize the property insurance market with legislation to discourage lawsuits and mandate claims be paid quicker.   

But hurricanes Ian, Idalia, Milton, and Helene produced heavy underwriting losses and caused billions in damages. This led some insurers to flee the state and others to raise rates or cancel coverage.  

Perez has told reporters the “only” issue his constituents mention when he knocked on doors during his campaign was “property insurance.”

At the same time, state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. has asked for a 13.5% rate increase for the coming year. The average Florida homeowner pays about $2,000 more per year than the national average to insure their homes. Will lawmakers find the gumption to tackle this again? 

Whither condo-related regulations?

Following the collapse of the Champlain Towers in Surfside in 2021, the Legislature imposed additional safety inspection and repair requirements that mandated condominium associations establish a savings account to pay for maintenance.   

The net effect of legislation approved in 2022 and 2023 is to have residents simultaneously cover the costs of current repairs and establish a fund to cover the costs for repairs over the next 30 years.   

But condo owners complain that those regulations are driving up fees with outrageous assessments that are forcing them out of their homes.   

DeSantis has suggested no-interest or low-interest loans to help. And Rep. Tom Fabricio, R-Miami Lakes, called the threat of condo owners being priced out of their homes “probably the most important issue in the State of Florida at this time.” 

The ever-present crisis: What to do about water?

The Legislature's Office of Economic and Demographic Research is the latest organization to sound the alarm of an impending water shortage.

It released a report in September that Florida could experience a significant water shortage in 2025 and estimates $1.7 billion is needed for critical water projects over the next 15 years to avoid a crisis.   

It's not alone in issuing a warning about the state of water in Florida.

The Central Florida Water Initiative, the Florida Springs Council, Audubon Florida, the Conservancy of South Florida, and Florida TaxWatch all have released studies, position papers or statements about the need to reduce the flow of pollutants into the state's aquifer and curb the amount of water being withdrawn.   

Environmentalists call on lawmakers to pressure state agencies to implement the clean water legislation that has already been approved. The 2016 Florida Springs and Aquifer Protection Act directed the Department of Environmental Protection to write a “harm rule” that would block pollutants from entering watersheds.   

That rule has yet to be written. “Eight years ago, that law was passed, and they (DEP) haven’t done anything,” USF geography professor and springs researcher Christopher Meindl told a meeting of the Florida Springs Council last week. 

James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com and is on X as @CallTallahassee.