Politics

Hidden climate taxes hurt Florida families, small businesses

Published

2 hours ago

December 22, 2025

Florida families are already feeling the pinch of higher prices. New carbon-emissions taxes would raise energy costs and the prices of goods and services families need. Florida families do not need a new tax burden.

That is why Gov. Ron DeSantis’ proposed legislation to prohibit new carbon taxes makes sense. The Governor’s proposal would stop government entities from using public funds to support net zero policies, carbon taxes or assessments and cap-and-trade style programs that drive up costs throughout the economy.

The proposal draws a line between actual environmental progress and government-imposed schemes that function like hidden taxes. The Governor’s budget proposal rightly describes these carbon pricing programs as detrimental to Florida’s energy security and economic interests. When the government drives up the cost of energy, families pay more in utilities, at the gas pump and at the grocery store.

Some advocates argue that carbon taxes and net-zero mandates will change behavior without real downsides. But we all know the impact of new taxes. They show up in higher costs that get passed along through the economy.

The Congressional Budget Office has warned that the costs of a carbon tax would not fall evenly across households. Higher prices would consume a larger share of income for lower-income households than for higher-income households.

In other words, these policies hit the people with the least flexibility the hardest.

Municipal carbon tax policies would also create a confusing patchwork of local climate rules that change from city to city. Businesses don’t invest and hire when they cannot predict what regulations will look like across city limits. A consistent statewide approach creates clearer expectations, protects accountability and helps innovation move faster. When local governments make their own sets of net-zero mandates, fees and enforcement regimes, they invite uncertainty and higher compliance costs that small businesses cannot absorb.

Supporters of local net-zero mandates often frame the issue as a choice between the environment and the economy. Florida doesn’t have to accept that false choice. We can support cleaner technologies and better efficiency without forcing families to subsidize government-driven programs that pick winners and losers. Innovation has delivered cleaner power generation and more efficient engines because entrepreneurs solved problems, not because lawmakers added another layer of mandates.

Florida has thrived on market-driven approaches. Let’s not change course now.

If local governments want to encourage conservation, they can focus on permitting reform, streamlined project approvals, and removing barriers that slow private sector solutions. What they shouldn’t do is impose expensive targets backed by penalties and fees that amount to a backdoor tax.

A carbon tax doesn’t always arrive with the label “tax.” It can appear as a fee, an assessment, an offset requirement, or a purchasing mandate that forces higher-cost options even when cheaper alternatives exist. Ratepayers and consumers bear those costs. Floridians deserve transparency and restraint, not a growing menu of climate-related charges tucked into local rules.

Florida’s strength comes from opportunity, affordability and steady growth. Policymakers should protect those principles. As families struggle with rising costs, the government shouldn’t implement new policies that raise electricity and transportation costs. When small businesses try to expand, the government shouldn’t add compliance burdens that favor large corporations with teams of lawyers and consultants.

Gov. DeSantis’ proposal protects Florida. It limits government overreach. It prevents hidden taxes. It protects jobs and growth. It also creates space for the kind of innovation that delivers real environmental progress without punishing those who can least afford it.

Floridians deserve affordable energy, economic opportunity and freedom from costly mandates. Gov. DeSantis’ proposed ban on local carbon taxes delivers on these promises. The Legislature should support the Governor’s proposal.

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Skylar Zander is the State Director of Americans for Prosperity-Florida.

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Politics

Robin Peguero notches Black Caucus PAC endorsement

Published

9 minutes ago

December 22, 2025

May Greene

Democrat Robin Peguero’s campaign to supplant Republican U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar next year just added an endorsement from the political arm of the Congressional Black Caucus.

The Congressional Black Caucus PAC (CBC PAC), which represents 62 members of the federal Legislature, said it’s backing Peguero, whom it described as “the commonsense leader we need in Congress.”

“Robin Peguero has dedicated his career to public service,” the group said in a statement, “from prosecuting homicides in Miami to investigating the violent insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol on January 6.”

Peguero, a self-described Afro-Latino born to Dominican and Ecuadorian immigrant parents, also carries support from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’ BOLD PAC. According to his campaign, only two sitting members of Congress hold endorsements from both CBC PAC and BOLD PAC.

The new nod joins others from Miami-Dade School Board member Joe Geller, Key Biscayne Council member Franklin Caplan, Coral Gables Commissioner Melissa Castro, Cutler Bay Council member B.J. Duncan, former U.S. Rep. Donna Shalala, former state Reps. Annie Betancourt and J.C. Planas, and ex-Key Biscayne Mayor Mike Davey, who withdrew from the race for Florida’s 27th Congressional District and immediately endorsed Peguero in August.

Peguero called CBC PAC’s support “an honor.”

“I’ve served and been mentored by a number of CBC members,” he said in a statement. “Now, I’m proud to have them in my corner in the fight for Miami’s working and middle-class families.”

A former federal homicide prosecutor born to immigrant parents from the Dominican Republic and Ecuador, Peguero’s government bona fides include a stint as an investigator for the congressional Jan. 6 Committee and work as Chief of Staff to U.S. Rep. Glenn Ivey, a Maryland Democrat.

Today, he works as a novelist and professor at St. Thomas University College of Law.

Peguero will face at least two Primary opponents in Florida’s 27th Congressional District: accountant Alexander Fornino and entrepreneur Richard Lamondin.

Through the last reporting period that ended Sept. 30, Peguero raised $330,000, while Lamondin amassed $453,000 and Fornino collected $25,000.

Salazar, meanwhile, has amassed $681,000 since winning re-election to a third term last year by 21 percentage points. She also has more than $1.64 million in reserves, according to Federal Election Commission records.

CD 27 — one of three Florida districts that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has highlighted as “in play” — covers Miami, Coral Gables, Cutler Bay, Key Biscayne, Pinecrest, North Bay Village, South Miami, West Miami and several unincorporated areas.

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Politics

Gov. DeSantis reappoints Richard Blanco, Fatima Perez to Greater Miami Expressway Agency

Published

40 minutes ago

December 22, 2025

May Greene

Gov. Ron DeSantis is reappointing two current members to the Greater Miami Expressway Agency (GMX).

The reappointments of Richard Blanco and Fatima Perez now move to the Senate for confirmation, where lawmakers will weigh in on the leadership of the agency responsible for managing and maintaining Miami-Dade’s major toll road network.

Blanco, currently the Chief Technology Officer at Internos Group, LLC, brings a technology and business background to the Board. In addition to leadership roles at Business Network International and planIT Systems, Inc., Blanco holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Florida International University.

Perez, a veteran of state and local politics, serves as Director of Koch State Government Affairs. Her résumé includes time as Chief of Staff for the City of Miami Beach, partner at Southern Strategy Group, and public policy manager at Akerman. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Florida State University and a Master of Public Administration from Florida International University.

Both appointees have been central figures at GMX, which oversees the region’s all-electronic toll expressway system — including the Dolphin (SR 836), Airport (SR 112), Don Shula (SR 874), Snapper Creek (SR 878) expressways and the Gratigny Parkway (SR 924) — that serves as a key artery for commuters in Miami-Dade County.

The agency, formerly known as the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority (MDX), transitioned to state control following a high-profile legal battle that culminated in 2023, when a Leon County judge dissolved MDX. That transition aimed to clarify governance and give the state a stronger hand in the system’s operations and long-term planning, particularly regarding toll pricing.

State law lays out a nine-member governing body for GMX with appointments by the Governor, Miami-Dade County and the county’s metropolitan planning organization. Appointees must have experience in fields such as transportation engineering, tolling or planning.

Perez, who presently chairs the governing Board, and Blanco, who serves as Board secretary, will be positioned to continue shaping the agency’s direction.

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Politics

Ron DeSantis reappoints four members to the Jacksonville Aviation Authority

Published

1 hour ago

December 22, 2025

May Greene

Gov. Ron DeSantis reappointed four people to the Jacksonville Aviation Authority (JAA) Board of Directors on Monday.

DeSantis made reappointments to the JAA, which oversees aviation operations at Jacksonville airport operations in Duval County and at airports and facilities beyond. The reappointments include Fernando Acosta-Rua, Michelle Barnett, Matt Connell and David Hodges Jr.

The JAA Board has seven members who oversee the jewel of the city’s aviation business, Jacksonville International Airport on the city’s North Side, which offers national and international flights. But the Board also manages the functions of Jacksonville Executive Craig Airport, which handles recreational and business aircraft near the Intracoastal West area of the city. Cecil Airport on the city’s West Side, which is a converted U.S. Navy installation and handles mainly heavy business traffic, and Herlong Recreational Airport, not far from Cecil, is primarily geared toward recreational and pilot hobbyists.

The Board has four members appointed by the Governor and three appointed by the Mayor of Jacksonville.

Hodges, the current JAA Chair, was reappointed after being first named to the Board in June 2022. He’s also Chair and CEO of the Hodges Management Group and Chair and Partner of 925 Partners Insurance Agency. He’s also served as the Family Office Principal for the Tebow Group and is co-owner of Tahoe Knight Monsters and Agusta Pro Hockey.

Acosta-Rua is currently the Vice-Chair of the JAA and was initially named to the Board in October 2021. He’s also a principal and shareholder for Heritage Capital Group. He is also steeped in community activism, serving as Chair of the Alivia Care Inc. Board of Directors and is a member of the Board of Trustees for The Bolles School.

Barnett has served on the JAA longer than any other current member, first appointed to the panel in October 2019. She’s also a past JAA Chair. Barnett is a lawyer and founding shareholder of the law firm Alexander, DeGance, Barnett. She’s also a member of the Jacksonville University Public Policy Institute Board of Trustees.

And Connell has served on the JAA since November 2020. He is the CEO of Total Military Management and a member of the International Association of Movers and the American Moving and Storage Association.

All four reappointments by DeSantis still need final approval from the Florida Senate.

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