In State of the State address, Gov. DeSantis pushes to repeal gun control laws and property taxes
In his annual State of the State Address, Gov. Ron DeSantis laid out his priorities of abolishing property taxes, repealing gun control laws and cleaning up the Everglades.
DeSantis gave a 30-minute speech to both chambers on what marks the first day of the Legislative Session.
DeSantis touted Florida as a leader in the nation for its tough illegal immigration enforcement laws and for a lean state budget.
“We are actually spending less money in the current fiscal year than we did in the previous fiscal year,” DeSantis said. “Where else in this country have they actually reduced spending?”
As property values jump, DeSantis continued to pitch his proposal to eliminate property taxes. DeSantis anticipates the issue will end up on the 2026 ballot for voters to approve.
“These escalating assessments have created a gusher of revenue for local governments,” DeSantis said. “Taxpayers need relief.”
Critics warn that eliminating property taxes could lead to a big hike in the state sales tax. DeSantis countered that argument Tuesday.
“Don’t let anyone tell you we’re going to seek to raise state taxes because this body will not pass tax increases, and this Governor will not sign any tax increases,” he said.
Meanwhile, DeSantis proposed adding more sales tax holidays for marine fuel for boaters and “Second Amendment Summer” for buying firearms, ammo and gun modifications.
He also touted some of the state’s environmental efforts to protect the Florida panther, restore beaches and continue work on rehabilitating the Everglades as he brought up his accomplishments in the past year.
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Everglades restoration is the largest environmental restoration project in the entire country and one of the largest in the entire world. We are on the path,” DeSantis said. “We’re ahead of schedule from the state perspective, but we need to get this job done once and for all, and so we will be working with the Trump administration to bring that to fruition.”
DeSantis urged lawmakers to continue pushing condo reform and repeal gun control legislation, including the law that bans anyone under 21 from buying a gun, which was passed following the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in 2018.
“We need to be a strong Second Amendment state. I know many of you agree with it, and so let’s get some positive reform done for the people of this state of Florida,” DeSantis said.
He also urged lawmakers to target the state’s ballot initiative process and pass reform to “protect Florida’s Constitution once and for all.”
DeSantis has accused last year’s abortion rights campaign organizers of petition fraud. Amendment 4 leaders have accused DeSantis, in turn, of weaponizing state resources to fight against the initiative, which got rejected in November’s election.
DeSantis, like usual, wasn’t afraid to take a jab in his annual speech. He took a hit at Canada, where Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been outspoken against President Donald Trump’s new tariffs.
“We continue to set tourism records; 2024 saw more than 142 million visitors come to the state of Florida. This includes 3.3 million visitors from Canada,” DeSantis said. “That’s not much of a boycott in my book. Maybe they wanted to get a glimpse of what a Stanley Cup-winning hockey team actually looks like.”
DeSantis’ annual address comes after Republican GOP leaders have stood up to the Governor over immigration reform during several tense weeks earlier this year.
“Speaker (Daniel) Perez and President (Ben) Albritton, I look forward to working together to advance our shared goals,” DeSantis said Tuesday.
Gabrielle Russon is an award-winning journalist based in Orlando. She covered the business of theme parks for the Orlando Sentinel. Her previous newspaper stops include the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Toledo Blade, Kalamazoo Gazette and Elkhart Truth as well as an internship covering the nation’s capital for the Chicago Tribune. For fun, she runs marathons. She gets her training from chasing a toddler around. Contact her at gabriellerusson@gmail.com or on Twitter @GabrielleRusson .