ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Lawmakers are heading back to Tallahassee next week. That's for a special session to draw redistricting maps, but property insurance could be on list of priorities too.
“We have parts of the state that haven't really been hit by a storm in a number of years, and you have massive litigation, massive roof claims. Guess what? That's going to drive the costs up when you have that,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said.
Insurance advocates say Florida accounts for 76 percent of all the property insurance lawsuits in the United States. That's why some lawmakers say it's time to address some loopholes to help homeowners.
Republican Sen. Jeff Brandes, of St. Petersburg, is the one who got the ball rolling for a special session last week. It's a little out of the ordinary for a lawmaker to do that, and it's also a little more challenging to get it done. Under Florida law, there are a few ways to call for a special session:
- One is through the governor's proclamation. The governor issued one back in March for the special session in April on the redistricting maps.
- Second, the Senate president and House speaker can issue a joint proclamation.
- Third, if there's enough lawmaker support, they can collectively call for one as well. In this case, Brandes urged colleagues to show their support. After 20 percent of the Legislature tells the Department of State in writing that they're interested in a special session, that prompts the state to poll the Legislature within seven days of getting the notice. Then, three-fifths of the Legislature has to agree to it within 60 days.
When the lawmakers do go back to Tallahassee, they can't just talk about any bills they like. The topics are limited to what was outlined in the proclamation, certificates filed with the secretary of state, in the governor's communication or introduced by the consent of two-thirds of the membership of each house.
Some members of the U.S. Congress are calling on the governor to add condo building law reform to the upcoming special session. Democratic U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz along with 10 other federal lawmakers sent the request to Gov. DeSantis.
During the regular state legislative session, lawmakers in both the Florida House and Senate were not able to agree on laws like requiring building inspections for aging condos in response to the Surfside condo collapse last summer. The governor says if state lawmakers can get on the same page, he's willing to add it to the priority list.
“If they can do it, then they can do it. Absolutely, but they have to agree on something. It's the same thing we want to do insurance. I think we're going to be able to get there. but they didn't get the insurance done, so we've got to get a product, and then you get it across the finish line,” DeSantis said.
Political Analyst Lars Hafner says he thinks the governor will want state lawmakers to be laser-focused on the redistricting maps next week, so it could mean that there will be a separate session for property insurance, maybe even condo law reform. And it won't be cheap. It costs taxpayers about $100,000 a day to have a special session.