Governor DeSantis closed out the month of June by signing the nearly $115.7 billion budget and tax cut package. The Governor made $1.35 billion worth of vetoes, which includes $576 million in line-item vetoes. Many of those were highlighted in Florida Tax Watch’s Budget Turkey Watch Report.
While the 2025 Session is now officially closed, we are already gearing up for the 2026 Session. Committee meetings are set to begin the week of October 6th and will conclude the week of December 8th. The current meeting schedule is set up to accommodate the earlier session in 2026 which typically runs from January through early March. At that point, lawmakers will head home and begin campaigning.
Session 2026 Committee Schedule:
Oct. 6 – 10
Oct. 13 – 17
Nov. 3 – 7
Nov. 17 – 21
Dec. 1 – 5
Dec. 8 – 12
Special Elections
Three special elections took place in June and all three members were sworn in in Tallahassee when legislators returned to finish their work on the budget.
- House District 3 (Okaloosa and Santa Rosa Counties) elected Rep. Nathan Boyles.
- House District 32 (Brevard County): elected Rep. Brian Hodgers.
- Senate District 19 (Brevard County) re-elected Sen. Debbie Mayfield. June 24, 2025 (Primary) & September 2, 2025 (General)
Primary elections for two other seats took place in Orange County. Two contests are set for September 2nd.
- Senate District 15 (Orange County will pit Democrat State Rep. LaVon Bracy Davis against Republican Willie J. Montague. The race is heavily favored by Democrats.
- House District 40 (Orange County): Rep. LaVon Bracy Davis’s chief of staff RaShon Young defeated Travaris McCurdy in the Democrat primary. Young will face off against Republican Tuan Le in another race expected to go to the Democrat.
Political Landscape
Democrats held their annual meeting, Leadership Blue, in Hollywood in June featuring New Jersey Senator Cory Booker and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear. Their event also featured their slate of announced statewide candidates including Republican turned independent turned Democrat David Jolly for Governor, former State Rep. Jose Javier Rodrigues for Attorney General, and Josh Weil who previously challenged newly elected Congressman Randy Fine who will take on Republican Ashley Moody for the U.S. Senate. Democrats have yet to file a candidate for Commissioner of Agriculture or Chief Financial Officer.
Meanwhile, Republicans will host their annual meeting, Florida Freedom Forum, on Saturday, August 2nd in Orlando. Their weekend gathering will see Governor Ron DeSantis, U.S. Senators Rick Scott and Ashley Moody rally their base alongside other statewide hopefuls. Attendees can expect to hear from Congressman Byron Donalds (Governor), Attorney General James Uthmeier, State Senators Blaise Ingolglia and Joe Gruters seeking the CFO spot, and Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson who has yet to file for re-election.
Convention
We are looking forward to seeing everyone at the upcoming three-day conference at the JW Marriott Miami Turnberry. It is always a great opportunity to bring our industry together and we hope everyone will register to attend and participate in the always exciting Silent Auction that goes towards helping our team effectively advocate for the industry.