Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) targeted Republicans in the Florida legislature for their focus on other priorities while he promoted a proposal to cut property taxes in the Sunshine State.
Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez (R) has championed a proposal to cut the state’s sales tax from 6% to 5.25%. DeSantis announced a counterproposal on Monday to cut property taxes by $5 billion and a constitutional amendment on the ballot in 2026 to fully eliminate property taxes.
Florida Senate President Ben Albritton (R) did not pick a side, instead saying, “Both are big ideas worthy of our consideration.”
After DeSantis’s announcement, the governor went on the offense against the state legislature over some of the bills it is considering.
DeSantis slammed legislation for carbon sequestration in a Monday post on X, calling it a “scam” and arguing that a “GOP supermajority is a terrible thing to waste.” Both chambers of the state legislature are considering similar bills to develop a task force on a state carbon sequestration program.
“Florida’s Republican supermajority is spending time on so-called carbon sequestration. Injecting carbon into our soil, aquifers, and even our ocean floor is a non-starter. Carbon sequestration is a scam. A GOP supermajority is a terrible thing to waste,” DeSantis said.
The Florida governor posted on Tuesday his opposition to the state House’s consideration of a bill dealing with parking spaces and office space. The bill could take away office space in the state capitol from Sen. Ashley Moody (R-FL), which was formerly occupied by Secretary of State Marco Rubio when he was a U.S. senator.
DeSantis urged Republicans in the state legislature to focus on tax relief rather than current “pettiness,” which he called an “embarrassment.”
“Republicans in the Florida House are dismissing the urgency of property tax relief. They are focused on … taking away office space from U.S. Senator Ashley Moody and regulating parking spaces at the state capitol building. This pettiness is an embarrassment to the State of Florida and The Republican Party,” DeSantis said.
DESANTIS PITCHES SLASHING PROPERTY TAXES INSTEAD OF PROPOSED $5 BILLION SALES TAX CUT
The governor’s jabs at some of the legislation being considered by Florida Republicans came months after his first severe disagreement with the state legislature since becoming governor in 2019. The fight over how the state would cooperate with federal immigration officers became a tense weekslong battle, which ended with the governor getting most of what he wanted.
During the standoff between the state legislature and the governor, Perez told the Washington Examiner he was “not worried about the working relationship” between himself and DeSantis despite the speedbump. DeSantis later said there were “no hard feelings” over the legislative fight.