Florida lawmakers next week will start the 2026 legislative session. With hundreds of bills filed for consideration during the session, here are 10 issues to watch:
— ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: Gov. Ron DeSantis has made a priority of creating what he has dubbed an “Artificial Intelligence Bill of Rights.” Such a proposal was filed last month in the Senate, addressing a variety of regulatory issues related to the technology. House panels have looked at AI issues, but House leaders have not moved forward on the bill-of-rights idea.
— BUDGET: Disputes between the House and Senate about spending and tax cuts led to a messy, delayed end of the 2025 legislative session. Lawmakers will try to agree during the upcoming session on a budget for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. DeSantis last month proposed a $117.36 billion spending plan that includes such things as increased money for teacher salaries.
— EDUCATION: Florida has dramatically expanded school-voucher programs in recent years, but lawmakers are grappling with growing pains in the programs. That has included questions about money properly following students as they shift between public schools and private schools and homeschooling. Meanwhile, school districts are worried about enrollment drops.
— GROWTH MANAGEMENT: As they held county delegation meetings in recent months, lawmakers were hit with complaints about a 2025 law that blocked cities and counties from approving “more restrictive or burdensome” changes to growth plans. Senate and House bills would scale back the law, which dealt with a series of issues related to 2024 hurricanes.
— GUNS: House Republicans will make another attempt to repeal a law that prevents people under age 21 from buying rifles and other long guns. Lawmakers passed the age limit in 2018 after the mass shooting at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, but the House in recent years has tried to repeal the law. The Senate has stymied the repeal attempts.
— HEALTH CARE: Amid a national debate about making changes to the health-care system, the House last month released two wide-ranging bills that include reducing some health-care regulations and trying to address prescription-drug costs. For example, one of the bills would eliminate the certificate-of-need regulatory process for nursing homes and hospice providers.
— MEDICAL MALPRACTICE: After DeSantis vetoed such a bill last year, the House has teed up a proposal that would repeal a long-controversial 1990 law that prevents some people from seeking what are known as “non-economic” damages in medical-malpractice cases involving deaths of their parents or adult children. Health care and business groups oppose a repeal.
— PROPERTY TAXES: DeSantis has traveled the state calling for a proposed constitutional amendment to slash property taxes. But lawmakers would need to agree on details of a proposal — or multiple proposals — that would go on the November ballot. Local governments are closing watching the debate, as they worry about losing tax dollars that pay for services.
— REDISTRICTING: Republican leaders in various states, including Florida, have looked at redrawing congressional districts as the GOP tries to keep control of the U.S. House in 2026. DeSantis has signaled support for redrawing Florida districts during a spring special session. But Florida House Republican leaders have backed addressing the issue in the regular session.
— RURAL RENAISSANCE: Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, is looking for a big take-home bill. The citrus farmer is seeking to pass a “rural renaissance” plan aimed at boosting such things as health care, education, transportation and economic development in rural areas. Senators passed the plan during the 2025 session, but it fell apart in the House.
–Jim Saunders, News Service of Florida
Shark says
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Deborah Coffey says
And, Floridians continue to vote for Republicans over and over again? It’s just so easy to see that they can’t govern. Maybe some will consider that we are way past due for a change.