Florida lawmakers had their first round of committee meetings last week and are already filing bills for the 2023 Legislative session, beginning March 7. And for the first time in more than 20 years, the Florida House is led by a Northeast Florida lawmaker.
House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, started his state legislative tenure representing Jacksonville in 2015 and now represents part of St. Johns County and all of Flagler County. (The last Northeast Florida speaker was John Thrasher, R-Orange Park, from 1998 to 2000.)
Republicans hold 84 of 120 state House seats (one seat is vacant) and 28 of 40 state Senate seats — giving the party a wide margin to push through policies. Renner laid out his priorities for the 2023 Legislative Session in November, focusing on hurricane recovery and conservative issues like parental rights in education and "anti-woke” financial investing. Renner also restructured the House with new committees on infrastructure and hurricane resiliency this year.
Read the rest of this story at Jacksonville Today, part of WJCT Public Media.