More elections, condos, guns and property insurance
December 23, 2024
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In a state where Republicans dominate, Florida will still see big political battles play out in the new year, despite the GOP extending their winning streak at the ballot box in November.
Perennial issues that sometimes split the party, such as property insurance, health care and guns are poised to grab headlines in the new year.
Then there’s the issue of condos. Gov. Ron DeSantis had called for lawmakers to hold a special session before the end of the year to fix a new law requiring condo associations to carry more reserves to pay for maintenance and repairs that had gone unaddressed for years. But legislative leaders rebuffed him, pushing the issue into the new year.
DeSantis is going to be busy on other fronts, too, including making high-profile appointments and setting special elections due to the falling dominoes of President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to staff his new administration with many Florida politicians.
Here’s a look at five issues that could flare up in 2025:
Appointments and special elections
One of the first things on DeSantis’ 2025 to-do list is naming someone to the U.S. Senate. Incumbent Marco Rubio is set to take over as the next Secretary of State in Trump’s Cabinet. DeSantis must name his replacement, and has said he’ll likely appoint someone in January.
Then there’s the Chief Financial Officer position. The current CFO, Jimmy Patronis, is running for the open U.S. House seat in the state’s western Panhandle and has submitted his resignation effective March 31. Florida law requires elected officials to resign from their current position to run for another office if the terms overlap.
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The seat is open because Trump initially tapped former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz to be Attorney General. Gaetz resigned to take the post but ran into opposition in the U.S. Senate, which has to confirm the nominee.
DeSantis has already called the special election for that race, Congressional District (CD) 1, and for another in CD 6, which covers Volusia and Flagler counties and parts of Lake and St. Johns counties. That seat is open after Trump named U.S. Rep. Mike Waltz as his national security advisor.
With Sen. Randy Fine, R-Melbourne Beach, jumping into that race and Rep. Joel Rudman, R-Navarre, contending with Patronis in the GOP primary in CD 1, DeSantis will have more special elections to call to fill their legislative seats. And yet more dominoes could fall when DeSantis plugs in replacements for Rubio and Patronis.
Condos
The collapse of the Champlain Towers building in Sunrise that killed 98 people in 2021 spurred the Legislature to pass new laws requiring condominium associations to carry more reserves to pay for maintenance and repairs, and undergo more inspections.
In response, condo associations began hiking assessments and fees for owners. Some of the hikes ran into the thousands of dollars, pushing some owners in older condo units to move and sell.
The situation became so dire DeSantis held discussions with affected condo owners and association leaders in South Florida. But his call for a special session to address the issue before the end of the year, when assessment requirement deadlines will take effect, went unheeded by legislative leaders.
House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, has defended the measures taken by the Legislature after the building collapse and said he wants to ensure any changes made to the new laws don’t endanger the safety of condo occupants.
Property insurance
Florida’s property insurance rates rose dramatically in recent years but state regulators and GOP lawmakers have said the market is stabilizing – even after a three-pack of hurricanes hit the Sunshine State in 2024. Officials point to the reforms passed in 2022 to limit lawsuits and attorney fees in disputes over a claim, the entrance of 10 new companies and the filing of some companies for rate decreases to show the market turning around.
But rates remain high for homeowners. State-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. asked regulators for a 13.5% increase for typical homeowners policies next year. The request is still pending before the Office of Insurance Regulation.
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The topic was top of mind for voters and candidates in both parties said rates still need to come down to provide relief for homeowners. But exactly what that means for legislation in the upcoming session that starts March 4 remains to be seen.
Some GOP leaders, including Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, have said they’ll be watching the property insurance industry to see whether rates drop further and how they treat claims in the wake of three hurricanes that hit the state this year.
“The proof will be in the results,” Albritton said shortly after being elected as Senate President in November. “I’m not going to sit idly by if legitimate claims get denied while rates continue to rise. Period.”
Health care
Albritton, though, also squashed any notion the Legislature would move to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act next year.
That means the more than 4 million Floridians who get their health care insurance through the ACA marketplace will rely more heavily on subsidies from the federal government.
Those subsidies, though, are set to expire at the end of 2025 unless Congress acts to extend them. With GOP controlling both chambers of Congress and the White House, such an extension is unlikely.
Without them, however, many Floridians could be priced out of health insurance, increasing costs for inevitable care that ultimately goes unpaid.
Guns
Florida’s push for eliminating more gun regulations and laws came to a halt in 2018 following the mass shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland that left 17 dead, including 14 children.
The GOP-led Legislature passed a measure that included raising the age to buy a rifle from 18 to 21, banning bump stocks and imposed a three-day waiting period to buy a firearm. It also allowed friends and family members to petition law enforcement for a risk protection order to prevent those deemed to be a danger to themselves and others from owning a firearm.
Now some Republicans and gun rights activists are pushing to repeal those laws and also allow guns to be carried openly in public.
Those bills have failed to pass in recent years and Albritton has said he opposes open carry heading into next year, but a lawsuit against Florida’s ban on open carry is pending in the courts.
Gray Rohrer is a reporter with the USA TODAY Network-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X: @GrayRohrer.
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