Welcome to Committee Week 4 of the 2025 Session 

Both chambers convened this week for their fourth round of interim committee meetings. Committees heard from agency leaders regarding their FY 2024-25 legislative priorities, as well as a number of presentations from subject matter experts on key state issues. The remaining interim committee schedule is as follows: 

 

• February 10-14, 2025  
• February 17-21, 2025  

The 60-day regular session will begin on Tuesday, March 4, 2025.  

This week, Governor Ron DeSantis released his “Focus on Fiscal Responsibility” budget recommendations for the 2025-26 state fiscal year. The proposed budget totals $115.6 billion, reflecting a 1.57% decrease from the current fiscal year budget. This recommendation serves as a key starting point as the Legislature works to craft and approve the constitutionally required balanced budget.  



Click here for FAC’s detailed breakdown of the Governor’s budget recommendations, county priority funding programs, and proposed conforming legislation.  

On Wednesday, FAC Deputy Executive Director Davin Suggs presented an overview of the County Budget Process during the House Intergovernmental Subcommittee meeting. The committee heard the structure and timeline of county budgeting including statutory requirements, fund accounting, revenues & expenditures, and reserves & fund balances. A representative of each county constitutional officer also provided context as to their budgetary needs and process.  FAC emphasized the role of relationships between each of the constitutional officers and the Board of County Commissioners. 

On Tuesday, the Senate Transportation Committee heard from Kim Holland, P.E, FDOT Assistant, who presented on Advanced Air Mobility (AAM). She gave a high-level overview of this mode of transportation, which uses air-based vehicles primarily utilizing Electric Vertical Take-off and landing (eVTOL). Ms. Holland mentioned during her presentation that Florida has prioritized the development of AAM and has worked closely with local governments to provide toolkits and training.  

On Tuesday, the Senate Community Affairs Committee hosted Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) Executive Director Kevin Guthrie, who provided an update on hurricane recovery efforts across the state. Guthrie discussed the state’s response to Hurricanes Debbie, Helene, and Milton, while also reintroducing two key initiatives: F-ROC, a proactive measure to accelerate disaster funding to counties, and Elevate Florida, a new state managed flood mitigation program that will provide grants to homeowners who have an active FEMA flood insurance policy and whose properties have repetitive flood claims.  The rollout for the program is February 7, 2025.   

Debris removal was also a topic of discussion, with members asking what can be done to make the process more efficient.  Guthrie noted that debris has historically been a challenge for local governments, even those with pre-event debris contracts.  Major debris haulers rely on a network of local and regional subcontractors, who are not bound by the pre-event contract between the local government and the primary hauler. Mr. Guthrie noted that during this year’s storms, subcontractors were attaching themselves to those contractors who were paying the highest rate.   As a result, in some instances, the state DOT stepped in with its own contractors and managed the debris cleanup for a fixed period of time.  Another major concern raised by Guthrie was sheltering inadequacies for extended stays, as 98% of Florida’s emergency shelters rely on school infrastructure, making it difficult to sustain operations beyond three to four days.  

Link: Committee Packet 

On Tuesday, Commissioner of Agriculture, Wilton Simpson spoke to the Housing, Agriculture, and Tourism subcommittee within the House about key features of his department. To begin, Commissioner Simpson highlighted agriculture as our primary food producer, making it imperative that the industry receive certain legislative and regulatory support.  

To this end, he urged additional recurring funding of the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program (RFLPP), which allows the state to acquire the development rights of key farmlands to create conservation easements and ensure sustainable agricultural production. He also spoke to the program’s compatibility with certain environmental initiatives—for instance, 90% of the lands acquired by the RFLPP are within the Florida Wildlife Corridor.  



Additionally, Commissioner Simpson outlined the Fresh from Florida program, which partners with retailers to promote Florida’s agriculture industry. He emphasized that buying local A) helps maintain a healthy agricultural sector, as well as sustainable land use, and B) avoids the price volatility of certain imported products.