Becker’s State Lobbying Update – Week 7: February 23rd-27th, 2026
Welcome to Becker’s Weekly Spotlight! As your trusted lobbyists we are proud to provide the latest developments in politics and policy in Tallahassee. Here is what happened in Tallahassee Week 7 (February 23-27) of the 2026 Legislative Session.
Top Trending Topics
- 45- Day Drill Down
- House and Senate Ready for Budget Conference
- House and Senate to take up Tax Packages
45- Day Drill Down
Yesterday, Thursday, February 26, 2026, marked the 45th day of the 2026 Legislative Session. With 15 days remaining in the 60-day session, committees are finalizing their reviews of proposed legislation, shifting their attention to the advancement of bills through the House and Senate chambers before progressing to the Governor. Additionally, leadership is currently engaged in addressing a budget gap amounting to $1.4 billion. At present, 85 bills have successfully passed the House, 86 bills have been approved by the Senate, and 7 bills have cleared both chambers, have been enrolled, and are now awaiting presentation to the Governor.
House and Senate Ready for Budget Conference
The House and the Senate are set to begin budget conference to negotiate the spending provisions for the 2026-27 state budget. House Speaker, Daniel Perez and Senate President, Ben Albritton, announced their chamber’s budget conferees this past Friday. Each side will negotiate and agree on the differences in the conference committees for each silo of the budget. Any issues that can’t be resolved by the conference committees will be “bumped” up to the Chairs of the House and Senate Appropriations Committee and if those issues are still unable to be resolved, they will be bumped to the House Speaker and the Senate President. An agreement for the $1.4 billion budget gap must be reached by March 10 to adhere to the constitutionally mandated 72-hour “cooling off” period if the Legislature is to end its session on time on Friday, March 13th. The upcoming 2026-27 fiscal year starts July 1.
House and Senate to Take up Tax Packages
Tuesday, February 24, 2026, both chambers filed their annual tax cut packages. SB 7046 by the Senate Finance and Tax Committee makes changes to property taxes, local taxes and assessments, sales and use tax, and for fiscally constrained counties. The bill revises the distribution of school taxes collected from a voter approved property tax levy by removing a reference which excludes certain charter schools. The bill prohibits counties, municipalities, and special districts from levying special assessments against more than 400 square feet of each RV parking space or campsite at RV parks. Also, the bill amends the criteria for being designated as a fiscally constrained county. Lastly, the bill exempts liquified petroleum gas tanks with a capacity of 20 pounds or less, and provides a sales tax holiday for hunting, fishing, and camping items. SB 7046 is scheduled to be heard in its final committee, Senate Appropriations, on Monday, March 2nd, at 12:00 pm. The House bill, HB 7031by the House Ways & Means Committee, revises multiple tax provisions for sales and property taxes. The bill also reduces the tax on slot machine revenue, removes a slot machine licensing fee, temporarily reduces excise taxes on domestic beer and exempts flood insurance policies by surplus lines providers for three years.
Construction
Land Use and Development Regulations
SB 208 by Senator McClain will revise local land use regulations to ensure development fees reflect actual costs, clarify placement of certain residential dwellings, and establish compatibility standards for residential uses. An amendment was adopted that would expand access to school easements, prohibit local governments from denying projects solely based on “community character,” add local comprehensive plan mandates for objective compatibility standards, establish parity for offsite constructed dwellings with site-built housing, and instructs OPPAGA to study potential impacts of eliminating urban development boundaries. SB 208 passed its final committee, Senate Rules, by a vote of 22-1. It has now been placed on the calendar for 2nd reading. Its House companion, HB 399 by Representative Borrero passed its final committee, House State Affairs by a vote of 16-10. An amendment was recently filed that prohibits denying building permits for manufactured housing on certain mobile home or RV park lots and clarifies related obligations. The bill has been placed on the Special-Order calendar for Tuesday, March 3rd.
Education
School Safety
SB 896 by Senator Gaetz expands school guardian programs to public colleges alongside existing K-12 private school programs. The bill creates a second-degree felony for discharging a weapon or firearm within 1,000 feet of a school during school hours or events and ranks the firearm discharge offense on the Criminal Punishment Code as a level 6 offense. Additionally, the bill requires certain student behavioral and threat assessment records to accompany students transferring to Florida College System institutions or state universities. Lastly, the bill requires classroom teachers and staff training on the purpose and execution of safety protocols and emergency procedures. SB 896 passed its final committee, Senate Appropriations, by a vote of 11- 6. It has now been placed on the calendar for 2nd reading. Its House companion, HB 757 by Representative Salzman passed the House floor by a vote of 83-25. It has now been referred to Senate Rules but has not been scheduled to be heard.
Healthcare
Sickle Cell Disease Treatment of Pain Continuing Education
HB 353 by Representative Robinson requires education on the treatment of pain for patients with sickle cell disease to be included in the course on controlled substance prescribing required for licensure renewal of certain healthcare practitioners. HB 353 passed its final committee, Health & Human Services Committee by a vote of 23-0 and is now placed on the calendar for a 2nd reading. Its Senate companion, SB 844 by Senator Jones passed the Senate floor by a vote of 37-0. It is now in House Messages.
Local Government
Local Government Enforcement Actions
HB 105 by Representative Brackett establishes a uniform standard for local government enforcement actions and provides remedies for actions deemed arbitrary or unreasonable. HB 105 creates the Local Government Regulatory Accountability Act. Also, the bill prohibits counties and municipalities from initiating or threatening enforcement actions and requires local governments to establish a review process and regulations for enforcement actions. Lastly, the bill further allows individuals or businesses to file legal action and affords whistleblower protection. HB 105 passed the House by a vote of 104-5 and now moves to the Senate Rules Committee. Its Senate companion, SB 588 by Senator McClain has not been heard in any committees of reference.
Land Use Regulations
SB 218 by Senator Gaetz amends certain provisions in Section 28 of SB 180, which passed the legislature last year, dealing with disaster rebuilding. The bill narrows the geographic area subject to SB 180’s restrictions by defining what “impacted local governments” are and applying restrictions to them only, resulting in 13 counties and their municipalities no longer subject to the restrictions. SB 218 passed its final committee, Senate Rules by a vote of 23-0 and is now placed on the calendar for a 2nd reading. Its House companion, HB 217 by Representative Abbott has not been heard in any committees of reference.
Municipal Utilities
Utility Services
HB 1451 by Representative Busatta requires certain public meetings and reporting for municipalities that provide utility services or intend to provide utility services in areas outside of their municipal boundaries. The bill limits the rates, fees, and charges that a municipal water or sewer utility may impose on customers outside the boundaries of the municipality to no more than 25 percent more than those imposed on customers within the boundaries. HB 1451 passed its final committee, House Commerce, by a vote of 21-3. It has now been placed on the Special-Order calendar for Tuesday, March 3rd. Its Senate companion, SB 1724 by Senator Martin, has been placed on the calendar for 2nd reading but has not been scheduled to be heard.
Provision of Municipal Utility Service to Owners Outside the Municipal Limits
SB 1014 by Senator Mayfield prohibits municipal water and wastewater utilities from declining to extend water or wastewater service to a property outside of the corresponding municipality’s corporate limits solely based on the owner of such property’s refusal to allow the property to be annexed by the municipality. In addition, the bill creates a procedure and requirements to determine when such utilities must extend service to a customer outside the municipality’s corporate limits. SB 1014 passed the Senate by a vote of 37-0. It is now in House messages. The House companion, HB 1075 by Representative Sirois passed its final committee, House Commerce, by a vote of 17-6. It is now ready to be heard on the House floor.
Retail
Domestic Animals
HB 1521 by Representative Weinberger expands the information that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) must include on its websites for a person convicted of animal cruelty, before January 1st, 2027. The information is expanded to include all aliases, date of birth, race, counties of conviction, charges, case numbers, depositions, description of any identifying marks and tattoos, and a photograph taken at the time of booking related to the animal cruelty offense of everyone convicted of cruelty to animals. HB 1521 passed its final committee, House Commerce Committee, by a vote of 24-0. It has now been placed on the calendar for 2nd reading. Its Senate companion, SB 1004 by Senator Gaetz, passed the Senate by a vote of 36-0. It is now in House Messages.
Election
Volunteering at Polling Locations
HB 461 by Representatives Michael and Valdes provides an exception to the ban on using private funds or services for election-related activities to allow high school students, who are registered or preregistered to vote, to volunteer at polling places for community service hours that count toward meeting high school graduation or scholarship program requirements. HB 461 passed the House with a vote of 108-0 and the Senate with a vote of 37-0. The bill has now been enrolled and is awaiting presentation to the Governor. The Senate companion, SB 564 by Senator Yarborough was substituted for HB 461.
