This week showed significant legislative momentum with several major bills advancing toward floor consideration. Board members should closely monitor HB 0145/Suits Against the Government (McFarland), which has been placed on the House calendar for second reading after passing through committees—this bill would substantially increase statutory liability limits for tort claims against school districts and other governmental entities, potentially impacting insurance costs and settlement authority. Similarly, HB 0209/Property Insurance Relief Homestead Exemption (Busatta) has been placed on the House calendar for second reading, proposing a constitutional amendment to increase the homestead exemption from non-school property taxes by $200,000 for properties with insurance coverage, which would directly reduce local government and county revenues while protecting school district levies.
Several bills showed notable committee movement: HB 0103/Local Business Taxes (Botana) and SB 0122 (Truenow) both advanced to new committees, with the repeal of local business tax authority continuing to progress through the legislative process. SB 0092/Employee Protections (Gaetz) moved to the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee, expanding whistleblower protections that could affect school district personnel actions. SB 0054/Use of Substances Affecting Cognitive Function (Sharief) progressed to Senate Appropriations, requiring school safety specialists to provide training on adverse effects of psychotropic drugs. SB 0124/Florida Virtual School (Rodriguez) advanced to Senate Appropriations on Pre-K-12 Education, while HB 0129 (its House companion) moved to the PreK-12 Budget Subcommittee.
On property taxes, the cluster of homestead exemption constitutional amendments continues advancing, with HB 0201 (Steele), HB 0205 (Porras), and HB 0211 (Overdorf) now in the Ways & Means Committee. Additionally, HB 0227/Eligibility of Leasehold Interests for Homestead Exemptions (Maney) moved to the Intergovernmental Affairs Subcommittee, while HB 0393 and SB 0450 (Ad Valorem Tax Exemption for Disabled Veterans) are both scheduled for discussion at the Office of EDR’s Revenue Estimating Impact Conference on December 12th. These property tax bills collectively pose significant potential revenue impacts to local governments while generally protecting school district levies.
Regarding the Governor’s FY 2026-27 budget proposal, Governor DeSantis has recommended $30.6 billion in FEFP funding including $16.6 billion in record state funding. The budget includes $1.56 billion for salary increases (with $1.5 billion designated for teacher and instructional personnel raises), $576 million for student transportation, and significant school safety investments including $300 million for safe schools and $190 million for mental health allocations.
Reports provided by Dr. Kim McDougal, Arrow Group
FSBA Bill Report
Education-Property Tax Bill Report
