| Even with the holiday season upon us, the Florida Legislature has been busy preparing for the 2023 Session. The Organizational Session was held on November 22nd to elect the presiding officers of each chamber and adopt rules for the 2022-2024 term. Senate President Kathleen Passidomo (R-Naples) and House Speaker Paul Renner (R-Palm Coast) announced their leadership teams, committee chairs and committee members. The Senate has 25 committees to address its policy and appropriations issues, and established a new Select Committee on Resiliency. The House will govern with nine main committees, 23 subcommittees and a new Select Committee on Hurricane Resilience & Recovery. In addition, there are five joint committees. Florida legislators returned to Tallahassee the week of December 12th for a special session on property insurance, property tax relief and other financial assistance related to the hurricanes that hit Florida this fall. Legislators considered and passed measures related to property insurance that include: abolishing one-way attorney fees; eliminating assignment of benefits for residential and commercial property insurance; creating the Florida Optional Reinsurance Assistance Program and funding it with $1 billion in general revenue for 2020; requiring certain property holders to obtain flood insurance regardless of their physical location; beginning to depopulate Citizens Property Insurance Corporation; and other actions. Disaster relief measures were also passed, some of which included offering partial property tax refunds for those impacted by Hurricanes Ian and Nicole; extending the due date for property taxes assessed in 2022 for property destroyed or uninhabitable as a result of Hurricane Ian or Nicole; providing funding for local governments to repair stormwater and wastewater systems and for the Florida Housing Finance Corporation to offer hurricane housing assistance. Additionally, the Florida Turnpike is directed to establish a toll credit program for frequent users. The program will give Floridians with 35 or more toll transactions per month a 50 percent credit to their account. It will be effective on January 1st and last for one year. Governor Ron DeSantis signed SB 6A (Toll Relief) into law on December 15th and SB 2A (Property Insurance) and 4A (Disaster Relief) on December 16th. Inaugural events will be held on Tuesday, January 3rd for the swearing in ceremonies of Governor DeSantis and Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nuñez. |
