2026 Legislative Session Update: Week 7

This week, we saw meaningful movement on legislation that directly impacts our communities. The House passed HJR 203, a proposal that would phase out certain non-school property taxes on homestead property over the next decade, beginning January 2027. The proposal has been sent to the Senate for a vote. If ultimately approved by lawmakers and voters, the proposal could significantly reshape Florida’s property tax structure by cutting public funding in other city service areas, while maintaining funding for public schools. There is speculation that the Senate may release a property tax plan as well, according to House Speaker Daniel Perez's memo. Thursday, the full House approved its $113.6 billion budget proposal. The Senate approved its $115 billion proposal Friday. 

HB 425, legislation focused on the preservation and protection of historic Black cemeteries across Florida. The bill passed its first committee, the Intergovernmental Affairs subcommittee, unanimously, signaling bipartisan recognition of the importance of safeguarding sacred burial grounds that have too often been neglected or erased. The bill provides that if a historic African-American cemetery recorded in the Florida Master Site File sells excess vacant land to fund the cemetery's long-term maintenance and upkeep, the county or municipality where the cemetery is located must administratively approve an application to rezone or change the land use designation of the excess land. Next stop is the Housing, Agriculture, and Tourism subcommittee. 

Healthcare access also saw important progress. SB 844, which strengthens sickle cell disease treatment and expands care options, passed its final committee stop, Senate Fiscal Policy, unanimously. Sickle cell disease disproportionately affects Black Floridians, this bill has the potential to directly improve health outcomes within our community. During the debate, Senator Tracie Davis noted the potential conflict between laws designed to address systemic racial disparities and recent efforts by the Attorney General to label certain policies “racially discriminatory,” highlighting how attacks on these laws could undermine support for minority populations.” We cannot get you to understand that these disparities are real, you’ve heard from actual people who deal with the pain of sickle cell every day.” SB 418, addressing law enforcement officer interactions with individuals on the autism spectrum, progressed this week. The bill seeks to improve safety and communication during encounters between law enforcement and individuals with autism.

SB 748, which addresses notice requirements related to voting rights information on sentencing scoresheets, continued its movement through committee. SB 1334, the Voting Suppression election bill (companion to HB 991), has advanced through the Senate Appropriations Committee on Transportation, Tourism and Economic Development and is now headed to Senate Rules. The bill proposes revisions to voter registration processes by requiring people to verify their citizenship and permanent residence in Florida to vote. If passed, the bill will go into law right before the midterm elections, July 1, 2026.  This bill is very similar to the federal SAVE ACT. Equal Ground continues to monitor this legislation closely, as changes to voter registration systems and ballot access processes can disproportionately impact Black voters and communities with historically lower access to administrative resources.

There was also an intense debate on SB 706, approving $5.5 million dollars for the name change of Palm Beach International Airport and several other regional airports to President Donald J. Trump Airport. It passed the full Senate with votes along party lines ( 25-11). 

Senator Shervin Jones spoke in opposition to the bill, stating that Florida should not rename the airports after someone who has a past of sexually assaulting women, using racial slurs to describe President Barack Obama and his family, and has been convicted of 34 felonies. Another renaming effort, SB 174, which would designate a roadway after conservative and often divisive commentator Charlie Kirk, passed the Senate Appropriations Committee on Transportation and now heads to the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee for further consideration. 

As we enter the latter half of the session, committee deadlines and fiscal considerations will shape which proposals ultimately reach the Governor’s desk. The House of Representatives and Senate have released their conference committee assignments. View the Senate assignments HERE and the House assignments HERE. The Governor can either sign it into law or use his line-item veto power to cut individual spending items from the budget.

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