Florida Legislature adjourns, Kathleen Passidomo and Paul Renner tout accomplishments

Owen Girard contributed to this report

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida Legislature adjourned Friday afternoon, marking the end of the 2024 Legislative Session where lawmakers met to enact new policies and reforms for 60 straight days.

“I am so proud to lead the Florida Senate, and amazed by what we have accomplished together over the last two years,” said Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples. “Our great governor, Speaker Renner, and every single member of the Florida House and Senate have worked together on key initiatives that will keep Florida the free, beautiful, and prosperous state we all cherish.”

House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, also celebrated this year’s accomplishments. One of Renner’s top priorities was protecting children from the harms of social media, which is slated to appear before Gov. Ron DeSantis after lawmakers worked to make changes.

“I’m proud of our Members for addressing the problems facing Floridians with both short-term and long-term solutions. I’m thankful for Senate President Passidomo and the Florida Senate for their partnership and to Governor Ron DeSantis for his leadership,” Renner said.

He continued to list many of the achievements that the the legislature had been able to accomplish, including taking on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, modernizing public education funding, expanding metal health services, increased teacher pay, and implementing significant tax reform.

“You can either follow the ‘Florida Way’ and increase freedom, or you can take it away,” he said. “You can either eliminate government waste or grow government to unsustainable levels. You can either empower parents and provide every child with greater opportunity to thrive or you can saddle future generations with insurmountable debt and uncertainty.”

“Florida has chosen the brighter path, and I am honored to have led the Florida House of Representatives at such a critical time in our state’s history,” Renner added.

The Senate president touted action taken on Florida’s health care industry and insurance market, and said she is hopeful for the future of both industries.

“I am proud of our work on kitchen-table issues important to growing families and seniors. Our work to stabilize and strengthen Florida’s property insurance market is starting to bear fruit,” Passidomo said. “We know families can’t wait. Every little bit helps. Cutting the taxes associated with flood insurance and property insurance premiums is important for families trying make ends meet as our insurance market strengthens.”

The budget passed Friday, along with sweeping tax breaks for Floridians. Several tax holidays Floridians received in 2023 will be returning for 2024, such as back-to-school and disaster preparedness.

“More Floridians have options to Live Local, in the heart of the communities they serve. More Floridians will be Living Healthy with as we grow Florida’s health care workforce, expand access and invest in innovation,” Passidomo said. “More Floridians are Learning Local – through universal school choice, or in neighborhood public schools that have served our communities for generations. Through our Compact to Conserve, the Florida Wildlife Corridor will one day be our Central Park as we preserve our state’s beauty for future generations to enjoy.”

This year’s budget totaled around $117 billion, with $10 billion in surplus and $500 million set aside for debt payoffs.

“I am very proud of our state budgets over the last two years,” Passidomo said. “We wisely utilized pandemic funds to make critical, one-time, generational investments in our infrastructure – from roads and bridges, to education facilities, to clean water and coastal resilience. Instead of spending all of we have, we are paying down debt, setting aside historic reserves, and providing for meaningful tax relief, so Floridians can keep more of their hard-earned money.”

“We have listened to our constituents, incorporated ideas and feedback from our communities, and made our mark with historic reforms to keep our state affordable and her people free,” she said.