Like little kids trying to be extra good as Christmas approaches, some Florida legislators are spicing the agenda for the election-year legislative session with a bunch of stuff that seems designed to make voters very happy.
Whether some of it works or not is another matter.
If they can do something to ease the cost of homeowners insurance, that would be a real accomplishment. Unfortunately, the cooling of the earth’s crust hung our state out in the Caribbean, and far too many Floridians decided to live near the coastlines, so Mother Nature occasionally sends us a hurricane to take back what’s hers.
Try to change that with a law. Holding down, or even abolishing, property taxes is something else homeowners would really feel grateful for when they vote in 2026. Tempting though tax cuts might be, local governments don’t want to put people on hold when they call the cops or fire department, and residents want their roads and bridges in reasonably good condition, so the money has to come from somewhere.
While DeSantis and legislative leaders work on— and quarrel about—big stuff that will shape Florida’s future for decades, rank-and-file lawmakers can use plenty of small stuff for cheap headlines and titillating sound bites. These are sort of the Skittles and beer of lawmaking, bills that offer little or no nutritional value but are nice to munch on when things get slow in a 60-day session.
Best of all, they look good to voters back home and force opponents into an awkward position of fighting against some things the typical Floridian probably thinks we should have done long ago—if the average Floridian ever thinks of them at all.
Some House members, for instance, have introduced the “No Shari’a Act.” It would forbid any application of Sharia law, or other foreign doctrines, by Florida courts and regulatory agencies. The bill includes an official legislative finding, specifying that the state supports the right to freely contract “but finds that such right must be circumscribed when the application of foreign law would violate the fundamental liberties, rights, and privileges guaranteed by the United States Constitution and State Constitution.”
I consider myself fairly well-informed but, living up here in little Tallahassee, maybe I missed a wave of foreign legal standards sweeping through Florida courts. It’s more likely that reelection-minded Republican legislators wish to add one more feather to their caps—bravely outlawing something that nobody is trying to do anyway.
Then there’s the bill to make universities and colleges name roads after Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk. There’s another to make school teachers swear an oath to uphold the Constitution and perform their duties faithfully.
There are others, and probably will be more crowd pleasers offered as amendments and during floor debate when the legislative session convenes in January.
And it’s not just legislators using their official powers to scratch an itch that they hope has been annoying a lot of voters.
Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier and Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia, both recent appointees to the state Cabinet who are up for election next year, are mixing the dull, necessary business of their offices with the flashy enforcement actions that might not change your life but fit neatly into 30-second campaign advertisements or bumper stickers.
Uthmeier, who staked his claim to the illegal immigration hot button by naming the “Alligator Alcatraz” deportation encampment, is continuing the culture wars that were so newsworthy in the past election cycle. For instance, he recently wrote to the Alachua County School Board, warning that an unidentified teacher who required students to use the title “Mx.” needs to be straightened out, pronto.
Ingoglia has been barnstorming across the state, pointing out what he considers waste and mismanagement in local governments. Cities and counties can fight back, but explanation never catches up with an eye-opening accusation by the CFO—especially at a time property taxes are in play.
It’s an old election-year tactic to grab attention with some easy, attention-getting topic. And it’s even better when that topic forces your opponent into a choice of either saying “me too” or defending what voters might see as the politically indefensible.
Bill Cotterell is a retired Capitol reporter for United Press International and the Tallahassee Democrat. He can be reached at wrcott43@aol.com.
