Former FL GOP House Speaker blasts Legislature for failing on affordability

As the GOP-controlled Florida Legislature nears the end of its 60-day regular session without accomplishing it’s only constitutionally required duty of passing a balanced state budget, negative reviews are coming in — including from Republicans themselves.

“The most painfully obvious dereliction of duty is how Florida families are telling legislators loud and clear: The cost of living is crushing them,” said former House Speaker Paul Renner in a written statement. “Property taxes, insurance, utilities — the basics of staying in your home — are getting harder to afford every year, and Tallahassee has just ignored it.”

In a public opinion poll released by the University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab last week, the issue of affordability is by far the most important to Florida voters. The survey showed that 50% of voters cited affordability and the cost of living, with the second most important issue political division, at just 12%.

But as the legislative session winds down, Renner, a candidate for the Republican primary for governor, lamented that Tallahassee is looking more like Congress “than the results-driven state government Floridians expect.”

“The gridlock, the excuses, and the failure to act on the biggest issues facing our constituents is unacceptable,” he said. “When half of Floridians say affordability is their number one concern, doing nothing is not just disappointing — it’s an abdication of responsibility and a failure of leadership.”

Renner led the Florida House from 2022-2024, and shepherded many of Ron DeSantis’ wish list of red-meat conservative policies in the 2023 session into legislative victories, ahead of the governor’s (ultimately unsuccessful) run for president.

Major proposals setting back abortion rights, public sector union representation, and a crackdown on undocumented immigration were all part of that 2023 agenda led by Renner in the House and Kathleen Passidomo in the Senate.

However, their successors — House Speaker Daniel Perez from Miami-Dade and Senate President Ben Albritton from Wauchula — have been unable to come together to pass budgets within the 60-day regular legislative session for two consecutive years now. Last year’s session ended 45 days after it was originally scheduled to; it’s unknown at this point how long lawmakers will need to pass a budget.

Property taxes

The Florida House did pass a joint resolution last month that would place a constitutional amendment on the November ballot to completely end non-school property taxes for homesteaded properties beginning on Jan. 1, 2027. However, the Senate opted to not file companion legislation, and the measure is expected to die when the regular legislative session concludes. Gov. DeSantis and Senate President Albritton have said such a proposal will likely be considered in a special legislative session later this year.

When asked to respond, Perez said he disagreed, noting how his chamber introduced “the largest tax cut in the history of Florida” a year ago (that was a $5 billion sales tax cut that was ultimately not advanced by the Senate). And he said that the Florida House was the only branch of state government acting this year when it comes to delivering property tax relief for Floridians.

“You talk about property taxes, probably the most popular conversation right now when it comes to affordability,” he said speaking with reporters late on Tuesday. “Maybe not the most important in the grand scheme of things, but to the public it’s the most popular right now, alongside property insurance of course, which never goes away, nor should it.”

“The only body that has passed anything with property taxes that has had a committee, that has had a robust debate is the House, so I would say we have definitely led the charge with affordability,” he added.

Renner is running well behind Naples U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds in the race for the Republican nomination for governor. Other candidates in the primary include Lt. Gov. Jay Collins and investment firm CEO James Fishback.