House Foreign Relations Chair Brian Mast slammed Russian President Vladimir Putin while marking the anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine.

“Today’s three-year anniversary marking the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is no cause for Russian celebration,” Mast said in a statement released through his committee. “It marks the anniversary of the largest tactical and strategic blunder in Russian history.”

The comments from the Stuart Republican stand in contrast to comments from President Donald Trump, who recently placed the onus on Ukraine for the ongoing conflict. “You should have never started it,” Trump posted on social media in comments directed at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Mast, however, clearly called out the Russians as invaders in his Monday statement.

“While Russia has brought brutality against civilians and soldiers alike, raping women and kidnapping children, Ukraine is slaughtering hundreds of thousands of Russian conscripts who have invaded their country,” Mast said. “Ukraine is likewise annihilating the soldiers Vladimir Putin imported from Kim Jong Un’s North Korea and overcoming the financial and military support flowing from China and Iran.”

But Mast, a vocal supporter of Trump, suggested he still trusts Trump to bring peace, and suggested the U.S. won’t appease Russia in the process.

“President Trump has recognized the need to end this carnage,” Mast said. “He will never be Neville Chamberlain, he will not seek a premature peace that allows the enemy to regroup, and he will settle for nothing less than sustained peace backed by a Europe which is capable of defending itself from Russia.”

Chamberlain, the Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1937 to 1940, signed the Munich Agreement in 1938 allowing Nazi Germany to annex Czechoslovakia, which he predicted would guarantee “peace for our time” but which history has recalled as a failed attempt to appease German Fuhrer Adolf Hitler before the start of World War II.

Trump since his election has taken a starkly different position on Ukraine than predecessor President Joe Biden, and has said he will broker a peace between Russia and Ukraine.

Mast said responsibility also falls on other European nations.

“Europe must meet the moment and match Russian military spending and recruitment,” Mast said. “Europe must realize that for our alliance to be the strongest in history, America needs a Europe that can hold its own.”

Post Views: 0

As he promised earlier this month, Spring Hills Republican Sen. Blaise Ingoglia has filed legislation to increase Florida’s homestead exemption limit.

Residents today can qualify for an up to $50,000 reduction in the assessed value of their homes to lower their property taxes. Measures Ingoglia filed (SJR 1016, SB 1018) would raise the limit to $75,000, provided voters approve the change.

If effectuated, he said, the change would mark the largest tax cut — $2.6 billion in ad valorem tax revenue that local governments would otherwise collect — in Florida history.

“Property taxes are skyrocketing and Floridians are demanding relief,” Ingoglia said in a statement.

“The current homestead exemption doesn’t cut it anymore. That’s why I’m filing for a new $75,000 homestead exemption that will be adjusted for inflation every year.  When your home value goes up, so does your exemption.”

Ingoglia’s bills, which do not yet have House companions, come less than three weeks after Gov. Ron DeSantis called for higher homestead exemption levels. The Governor said that while some local governments “do a pretty good job” of using the money for local services and upkeep, others waste it.

Residents in some areas in the state have enjoyed lower property tax rates. But others, particularly those in metropolitan markets like Jacksonville, Miami and Tampa, have seen their post-pandemic property tax bills go through the proverbial roof.

“I’d rather protect you and limit their ability to tax your (property),” Desantis said. “Voters (should) have an opportunity to rein in the cost associated with property taxes and get further protections for Florida taxpayers. I think that would be really good, and I think that would be a great thing to leave to future generations.”

DeSantis suggested as much as tripling the exemption. Ingoglia’s proposal would increase it by 50%, not counting other benefits available to veterans, active-duty military service members, disabled first responders, seniors and property owners with disabilities.

The Governor added that he would even be open to wiping out property taxes altogether, something Ocala Republican Rep. Ryan Chamberlin proposed last year.

Chamberlin’s argument for the change was that residents see their property taxes increase despite not realizing any gain in their bank accounts.

“If the IRS started charging us a tax not just on your income but what they thought we could have earned, we would have riots in the streets,” he said during early talks of the bill, which died after no Senator filed a companion bill.

Detractors of that proposal on both sides of the aisle noted that lost property tax revenue would necessarily be shifted to sales taxes, which could financially overburden less financially stable Floridians.

According to an analysis of U.S. Census data by the Urban Institute, a Washington-based think tank, property taxes are Florida’s second-largest source of per capita revenue after federal transfers.

Post Views: 0

A new pilot program could soon be implemented to help young students master better ways to manage conflicts with teachers, peers and parents.

St. Petersburg Democratic Sen. Darryl Rouson filed a bill (SB 1014) to establish the Youth Conflict Resolution and Peer Mediation Pilot Program, which would aim to reduce juvenile violence in schools by equipping students with conflict resolution skills.

Violence in schools has been a persistent issue in Florida. In September 2024, reports showed that several students, some as young as 11, had been arrested and charged with making threats of violence, including posting online that they would conduct mass shootings at their respective schools. Another 13-year-old student was caught with a loaded handgun in his backpack.

The bill states that the Legislature intends to improve student success and well-being by engaging and supporting parents and community organizations in their efforts to have a positive impact on student learning and development.

The pilot program would be part of the Community School Grant Program, and would be implemented for three school years, starting no later than the 2026-27 school year.

The program would involve the Center for Community Schools at the University of Central Florida, which would work alongside the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) to develop, implement and monitor the effectiveness of specific curriculum at selected schools that have high rates of juvenile violence.

Schools would be required to integrate the curriculum into lesson plans and to provide training that would include community partners who interact with the students at the school where possible. Schools would also be required to provide data, and complete pre-pilot and post-pilot program surveys created by the center that would be completed by students, teachers and parents.

The center would be responsible for monitoring the program’s implementation, collect all relevant data and provide periodic updates. After the program ends, a comprehensive report would be submitted to the FDOE, including any recommendations for broader curriculum adoption.

The report would also need to include the number of students enrolled in the participating schools, the rates of student discipline and juvenile violence in the selected schools before the pilot program, and results of the surveys.

If passed, the bill would come into effect upon becoming a law and would expire after the final report is submitted.

Post Views: 0