Central Florida officials oppose reducing property taxes.
As state lawmakers toss around the idea of greatly reducing –even eliminating– property taxes, Central Florida leaders are discussing how losing this major source of revenue might impact residents and local governments. Central Florida Public Media’s Lillian Hernández Caraballo reports at a roundtable in Orlando, where local elected officials got together to find solutions and educate the public.
Speakers focused on the critical role that property taxes play in funding essential local services like public safety, education, and infrastructure. Losing this revenue could lead to cutbacks to these services.. or** to increases in sales taxes.. which they say would hurt people struggling with affordability. Sadaf Knight of the progressive-leaning Florida Policy Institute says that eliminating property taxes may seem attractive at first.. but a closer look reveals it’s a bad idea..
“Property taxes overall support 28% of local government services. They would leave a 43 to $55 billion hole in local budgets that would be devastating.”
Governor Ron DeSantis supports eliminating property taxes.. proponents say they’re ineffective and that local government budgets are taking advantage.
Partially successful flight of Starship.
The enormous Starship rocket got to space yesterday from Texas, but then broke apart. It was the third-consecutive loss of a Starship, and another setback for SpaceX. But it could be viewed as a cautiously optimistic win for the Starship program. A Super Heavy booster was re-used for the first time, and flew fine until it re-lit engines for the landing burn. Starship itself suffered a loss of attitude control after reaching space, leading to an uncontrolled reentry. Debris fell into the planned hazard zone in the Indian Ocean.
Last chance to request a mail-in ballot.
Republican Debbie Mayfield and Democrat Vance Ahrens are competing in a special election for Florida's Senate District 19. All Brevard County registered voters residing within State Senate District 19 and State House District 32 can vote in person on June 10th. The deadline to request a mail ballot is tomorrow, Thursday, May 29 by 5:00 pm. You can request a mail ballot online at VoteBrevard.gov. Early in-person voting for the special election opens this Saturday and runs through June 7th.
DeSantis says he’ll veto medical malpractice bill.
Gov. Ron DeSantis says he’ll veto a bill that would allow people to sue for non-economic damages, like pain and suffering, over the deaths of their parents and adult children. The governor says the bill, which would repeal a 1990 law, would cause lawsuits to skyrocket.
“What they want to do is to sue for non-economic damages," he said. "What that is going to do is, is that’s going to lead to a flood of lawsuits against practitioners and against hospitals. Malpractice premiums are going to go up. It’s going to be harder to recruit physicians into Florida, and ultimately health-care costs will go up.”
DeSantis has until May 30th to act on the measure.
It’s a shark summer.
Shark activity in Florida waters peaks between April and October. There’s actually no beach in Florida where it’s impossible to come across a shark in the water. In 2024, there were 14 recorded shark bites in Florida, representing 30% of global unprovoked attacks. Volusia County, just to our north, accounted for over half of the state's incidents. Volusia is officially “Shark Bite Capital of the World.” Here’s a comforting thought: According to Florida Fish and Wildlife, you’re 30 times more likely to be struck by lightning than be bitten by a shark in Florida.
