With relatively few incumbents getting a pass, and numerous former office holders seeking a return to elected life, the 2026 election was set up Friday with hundreds qualifying for legislative seats, statewide offices including for the governor, and U.S. House seats under a new Republican-leaning map.

Lawmakers on Tuesday approved a sweeping tax cut for homestead property owners pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, sending it to the November ballot.

The measure increases the existing $50,000 exemption for homestead properties to $150,000 starting in 2027, and it increases to $250,000 in 2028. The exemption, though, doesn’t apply to school taxes, after lawmakers changed DeSantis’ plan Monday to protect districts from drastic cuts.

TALLAHASSEE — In a priority of Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Senate Republican on Monday filed a proposal dubbed the “Artificial Intelligence Bill of Rights.”

Motorists would no longer have to peel and place yellow vehicle registration stickers on their license plates, under a measure filed Friday for the 2026 regular session that begins Jan. 13.

TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Home Builders Association has joined a legal battle to help defend a new state law that includes blocking cities and counties from approving “more restrictive or burdensome” changes to growth plans.

Florida motorists paid an average of $2.79 a gallon for regular unleaded gasoline Monday, down 12 cents from a week earlier.

The Florida House on Tuesday released two wide-ranging health care bills that include eliminating some regulations and trying to reduce prescription drug prices.

U.S. Rep. Jimmy Patronis this spring won a special election to replace former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz in a Northwest Florida district. Patronis, a Republican, served nearly eight years as the state’s chief financial officer before his April election to Congressional District 1. Patronis, whose father and uncle started the popular Captain Anderson’s restaurant in Panama City, also served in the state House and as a member of the Florida Public Service Commission.

This story originally appeared on News Service of Florida’s website and is written by Jim Turner.

House Republicans on Thursday formally designated Rep. Sam Garrison to succeed House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, after the 2026 elections.

Tallahassee – Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration quickly appealed a federal judge’s ruling Thursday, Aug. 21, that sided with environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe and required winding down operations at a controversial immigrant-detention facility in the Everglades.