DeSantis proposes property tax break, dismisses idea for sales tax break
Gov. Ron DeSantis said he wants to save Floridians about $1,000 on their property tax bills over the next year, escalating a dispute with the House speaker over how to cut taxes this year. During a Monday news conference, DeSantis said he wanted the state to pick up the tab for a portion of property taxes for about 5 million homesteaded properties. The maneuver would save those homeowners about $1,000 on their property tax bills, he said. More from the Tampa Bay Times and the Tallahassee Democrat.
FloridaCommerce: State unemployment rate climbs for 2 months straight
Florida’s general unemployment rate ticked up in February for the second month in a row, coming in at 3.6%, according to FloridaCommerce. The state saw its first jobless rate increase in about half a year in January, when the rate moved to 3.5% from 3.4%. “There were 398,000 jobless Floridians out of a labor force of 11,196,000. The U.S. seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.1 percent in February,” FloridaCommerce officials said in a news release. [Source: Florida Politics]
Tech groups renew their challenge to Florida’s social media law
Industry groups have filed a revised constitutional challenge to a 2024 Florida law aimed at keeping children off some social media platforms, after a federal judge this month rejected an initial request for an injunction. The Computer & Communications Industry Association and NetChoice on Friday filed a revised lawsuit and a revised request for a preliminary injunction. The groups, which contend the law violates First Amendment rights, challenged the law in October. More from the News Service of Florida and WMNF.
Opinion: How Florida businesses should prepare for the great wealth transfer
Over the next decade, nearly $884 billion will change hands in Florida as wealth moves from one generation to the next, according to a recent study from LOCUS Impact. This is not a momentary financial shift. It will be a defining moment for Florida’s economy, its family-owned businesses and the communities they anchor. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
House budget makes play to increase veteran teacher pay
After years of offering incentives and salary hikes to new teachers, a House budget proposal prioritizes pay for experienced educators. A proposed House budget released on Friday called for $100 million to support a pay increase for “veteran teachers.” The proposed language offers more details on why those teachers could benefit from it. The budget provides funding to boost pay for any teacher with at least two years of full-time teaching experience in a Florida public school. [Source: Florida Politics]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Florida leaders unveil new partnership: A global gateway for tech & investment
At the eMerge Americas Conference + Expo, Florida’s business and innovation leaders officially announced a new partnership aimed at establishing Florida as the premier entry point and hub for global technology, capital, and entrepreneurship. This initiative, anchored between Miami and West Palm Beach, will create a direct bridge between international investors, high-growth industries, and Florida’s regional markets.
› Fort Lauderdale Spring Break wraps up ‘successful year’ with no major incidents
Fort Lauderdale was popping up on everyone’s social media as the top Spring Break destination for a week full of partying. When they arrived, some found less chaos than they hoped for, college-aged revelers told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Others felt they found just the right amount. Monday marked the police department’s last official day of Spring Break enforcement, and by all accounts, this year’s monthlong event wrapped up without any major incidents.
› Sarasota County EDC uses AI, other tools to overcome slashed funds
With the start of Sarasota County’s fiscal year 2026 budget cycle beginning with its initial workshop this week, it marks the approximate midway point of one its highest profile budget moves for the current fiscal year: the elimination of the countywide business tax. Those revenues for decades had helped support the operations of the Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County, leaving the organization in an approximately $200,000 budgetary hole.
› 'Plenty of sales ... just need employees': New Dassault jet service hub at Melbourne airport
Dassault Falcon Jet officials expect their new service complex at Melbourne Orlando International Airport to welcome its first aircraft in July — launching plans to eventually employ about 350 well-paid workers and attract "ultra-high-net-worth customers" to Florida's Space Coast for weeks at a time.
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› Seminole County’s only homeless shelter needs more funding. Here’s where things stand
More than 107,000 people in Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties are just a paycheck away from being evicted, according to a recent study. And, as more people need help with housing and local governments are looking into the impact of Florida’s new camping ban, Seminole County is learning how much money its only emergency shelter needs this year.
› Now it's Southwest Florida's turn to feel more insurance cost pain
Next year’s insurance rates aren’t expected to increase anything like they did during the height of the state’s insurance crisis three years ago, but parts of the state are getting hit by cost increases. With hurricanes slamming the state’s western flank over the past three consecutive hurricane seasons — including three catastrophic storms — the cost of insuring property on the Gulf Coast is getting pushed closer to that of South Florida.
› Turning the tide: Escambia assesses flooding risk county wide. Where the weak spots are.
The good news coming out of a county-wide flooding vulnerability assessment is that about 85% of Escambia County is high and dry and not at risk for flooding. The unfortunate news is that other areas, which unsurprisingly are mostly along the coast and different waterways, are at some risk of flooding ranging from low to high. The assessment is not intended for individual homeowners or property assessments, but the county at large.
› Jax task force targets historic property neglect
Caved in roofs, rotting wooden exteriors and unsafe foundations would be an eyesore on any property, but when owners allow such deterioration in historic districts, it’s “especially offensive,” Historic Preservation Commissioner Bill Hoff said. Hoff has been on the City of Jacksonville’s historic preservation commission for a little over a year, and during that time, the commission has noticed an uptick in requests for the demolition of historic properties by their owners mainly due to some form of neglect.