The Florida Legislature continued to hold committee meetings in October and November to prepare for the 2024 Legislative Session, which begins on January 9th. Senator Ben Albritton (R-Bartow) was named the Senate President-Designate for the 2024-26 term by the Senate Republican Caucus on October 17th. He served in the House of Representatives from 2010-2018 and subsequently was elected to the Senate in 2018 representing the southwest Florida area. A citrus grower, he stated that throughout his tenure agriculture will be a top legislative priority.
Representative Daniel Perez (R-Miami) was previously designated Speaker of the House for the 2024-2026 term when the House Republican Caucus gathered in Tallahassee in September.
The Florida Legislature held a third special session this year from November 6th-9th to consider twenty-one pieces of legislation addressing hurricane relief (specifically related to Hurricane Idalia), insurance, student funding, support for Israel, sanctions against terrorist regimes and security infrastructure to guard against anti-Semitic violence. Governor Ron DeSantis signed four of the bills on November 13th, the same day he received them.
ELECTIONS
A special primary election in Central Florida for HD 35 was held on November 7th to replace the seat formerly held by Republican Representative Fred Hawkins who became the president of South Florida State College. Erika Booth won the Republican primary and Tom Keen won the Democratic primary. The general election will be held on January 16, 2024.
A new member, Representative Ryan Chamberlin (R-Belleview), was sworn into the Florida House of Representatives on November 6th. He won his special election on May 16th to represent HD 24 in Marion County.