Guest commentary: SCCF provides Week 8 legislative update
When asked by the press last week about the state budget negotiations, House Speaker Daniel Perez said, “we are not close enough” and “there is a fundamental disagreement,” leading to speculation that the 2026 legislative session was on track to go into overtime.
For the session to end on time, the budget had to be completed and sent to legislators by March 10 for a constitutionally mandated 72-hour review period. This looked increasingly unlikely since no budget conference meetings had been posted as of March 6. Additionally, according to FL Tax Watch, another sure sign of overtime occurred last week when the House Rules & Ethics Committee approved a rule that allows members to fundraise during extended or special sessions. Fundraising isn’t typically allowed until session is adjourned.
The $113.6 billion House spending plan is close to $1 billion below last year’s final state budget of $114.8 billion. The Senate’s budget proposal is $115 billion, while Gov. Ron DeSantis’ current proposed budget is $117.4 billion.
BILL UPDATES
– Blue Ribbon Projects — SB 354/HB 299: After the bill sponsor, Sen. Stan McClain, filed an amendment to match the House bill with the change to increase the size of a Blue Ribbon Project from 10,000 to 15,000 acres, many thought the bill would gain approval through its last stop in Senate Rules last week.
In a rare move, Rules Chair Sen. Kathleen Passidomo spoke last in opposition to the bill. While several other committee members spoke against the bill, Sen. Passidomo’s critique was the most vigorous. She lamented its broad scope and lack of details, and the overdevelopment problems in the state that need a more comprehensive review rather than piecemeal approval of large-scale development, which the bill would do. If passed, the bill would pave the way for developments the size of medium-sized cites (up to 50,000-plus homes) to be built in the most rural areas of Florida. The bill barely passed its final Senate committee by a vote of 12-10.
Many legislators vote to pass bills in committee that they’re not in total agreement with on the hope that positive changes will be made before final passage by the full chamber. As an example of this strategy, Sen. Stan McClain offered one last amendment to the full Senate on March 5 to limit the areas where data centers can be built, with the expectation that it would encourage a few more legislators to lean in his favor.
Sen. Passidomo started the debate with an even stronger opposition to the bill than she had previously presented. In addition to all the points she had made previously, she said that the bill is “not ready for prime time,” “the bill language doesn’t match the intent” and “if this bill passes, we are going to be in a world of hurt.” She reiterated the need for a comprehensive look at the current development issues Florida is facing.
Other senators opposing the bill added: “I’m not going to turn over my community to a hedge fund,” referring to the owners of a tract of land in northeast Florida that would benefit from the bill, and “we’re playing billionaire bingo” if we pass the bill.
During the debate only one senator, future Speaker Jim Boyd, spoke in favor of the bill. Seeing that the bill was facing an uphill battle, presiding Speaker Sen. Jason Brodeur temporarily postponed the bill, ending the debate.
The bill could come back this session, but the more likely scenario is that it will return in a different form next session.
– FL Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (Florida Farm Bill) — SB 290/HB 433: After the bill was amended to remove the controversial disparagement (a.k.a. muzzle) clause in both the House and Senate versions, the Senate finalized the vote (94-10) last week to send the bill to the governor. The House approved the bill the prior week.
The final bill also narrowed the language outlining state conservation lands suitable for surplus to be sold for agricultural purposes, but opponents of this element of the bill remain concerned.
– Land Use Regulations for Local Governments Affected by Natural Disasters — SB 840/HB 1465: The bill was introduced by Sen. Nick DiCiglie as the fix to 2025’s problematic HB 180 — Emergencies, which was intended to aid homeowners to rebuild after hurricanes but turned into a vehicle abused by developers to override local planning laws. SB 840 would contract the sunset times of HB 180, narrow the geographic scope of the bill, and shift a local government preemption on new or updated land use laws to apply only to properties impacted by a storm.
SB 840 was embraced by the Senate and awaited House approval as of March 6. The comparable House Bill 1465 essentially doubled down on the bad elements of the 2025 bill and never got out of its first committee. Unfortunately, House Speaker Daniel Perez, when asked about SB 840, said, “A bill that hasn’t moved in the House will not be brought up at this time.” While that is technically true, there are endless avenues for bills to be brought to the floor for a vote, but this statement seems to close the door on SB 840 for this year.
– Net-zero Policies by Government Entities — SB 1628/HB 1217: These local government preemption bills would prohibit all local government entities from expending funds to implement, support or advance net-zero policies. SB 1628 was amended on to the Senate’s tax package, SB 7046, under the guise that net-zero policies cause unnecessary taxation.
HB 1217 passed the full House on March 5 by a vote of 80-29. It was then referred to the Senate Rules Committee. The most likely vehicle for passage of this plan is the amended Senate tax package, which is aligned with the provisions of the House version of the bill.
Check out our 2026 Legislative Tracker at https://sccf.org/what-we-do/2026-legislative-session/ to see a table of the bills that the SCCF is following, updated daily during session.
Holly Schwartz is policy associate for the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF). Founded in 1967, the SCCF’s mission is to protect and care for Southwest Florida’s coastal ecosystems. For more information, visit sccf.org.