A Senate bill to honor late conservative activist Charlie Kirk with a roadway designation in Florida’s most populous county advanced through its first committee with full GOP support and none from Democrats.

The measure (SB 174), sponsored by Doral Republican Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez, would rename a 1-mile stretch of Southwest 107th Avenue alongside Florida International University as “Charlie Kirk Memorial Avenue.”

Rodriguez said the goal is to recognize Kirk’s civic participation and youth engagement, not his ideology or controversial things he said.

But Kissimmee Democratic Sen. Kristen Arrington countered that ignoring Kirk’s rhetoric in the legislative process won’t stop people from wondering why the state would honor someone who, among other things, questioned the qualifications of Black pilots, said “prowling Blacks” routinely target White people in urban areas, and perpetuated the “great replacement theory.”

“When Floridians and visitors are visiting and they say, ‘Who is this?’ and if they don’t know, they look them up online,” she said. “I think some of the things they have seen Charlie Kirk has said will … disgust them.”

Kirk, 31, was shot and killed at a Utah university campus on Sept. 10. His death has been mourned nationally and internationally.

Kirk lived part-time in Florida. He owned a home in the Sarasota County portion of Longboat Key, an affluent municipality of some 7,500 residents. Kirk did not involve himself in local politics while there, several members of the Town Commission told Florida Politics.

Rodriguez said the roadway designation “doesn’t require universal agreement” with his statements, and there’s precedent for renaming roads after controversial figures.

“Florida has a long history of honoring individuals for their civic engagement, military service or public influence, even when opinions about them vary, and the Legislature routinely approves honorary roadway designations recognizing figures whose impact is undeniable,” she said. “I believe, and I think many people believe, that his was, regardless of political disagreement.”

Arrington and Democratic Sens. Tracie Davis of Tampa and Shevrin Jones of Miami Gardens voted against SB 174, which passed 6-3 and will next go to the Senate Appropriations Committee on Transportation, Tourism and Economic Development, its penultimate stop in the chamber.

A House version of the measure (HB 33) by Miami Republican Rep. Juan Porras awaits a hearing before the first of two committees to which it was referred.

If anyone is considering challenging the so-far unopposed Harry Cohen for Hillsborough County Commission, they might start to reconsider.

Cohen, a Democrat representing District 1 on the County Commission, has always been a prolific fundraiser. The fourth quarter of 2025 was no different, with more than $56,000 banked for his campaign over the three-month period ending Dec. 31. The haul brings his total 2026 campaign total to more than $80,000.

His committee, Hillsborough Together, didn’t post any fundraising activity in the fourth quarter, but after raising $105,000 in the third quarter of 2025, the account is flush with nearly $240,000 on hand.

“I am truly humbled by the level of support my campaign has received,” Cohen said. “I am very committed to the work — the actual day-to-day delivery of public services: whether it is repaying roads or funding key public safety and infrastructure improvements, it is a constant focus on maintaining and improving our quality of life. I work to build consensus and get things done. Effectiveness is the best campaign.”

Cohen’s latest fundraising haul included 117 contributions, averaging about $480 each.

He received $1,000 each from, among others, the local Teamsters union; the political committee supporting the local firefighters union; the Tampa Police Benevolent Association; the Tampa Bay chapter of real estate development association NAIOP; waste hauling company Waste Management; the political committee supporting Tampa General Hospital; the political committee supporting Hillsborough County Commissioner Gwen Myers; the Akerman law firm; U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor; former University of South Florida President Betty Castor; and prominent Tampa lawyer Ron Christaldi.

Cohen officially kicked off his campaign in October, with a standing-room-only event at Pane Rustica including three Tampa Mayors: current Mayor Jane Castor and former Mayors Bob Buckhorn and Sandy Freedman, the latter of whom also contributed $1,000 to Cohen’s campaign in the fourth quarter.

Cohen is one of only two Democrats on the Hillsborough County Commission. He was first elected to the Commission in 2020, replacing former Commissioner Sandy Murman, a Republican. Prior to his service on the Commission, Cohen served two terms on the Tampa City Council. He ran for Tampa Mayor in 2019, finishing third before now-Mayor Jane Castor went on to defeat the late David Straz overwhelmingly in a runoff election.

Cohen landed at No. 23 on Florida Politics’ list of Tampa Bay’s Most Powerful Politicians last year. Cohen must navigate the complexities of governing amid a GOP supermajority, a task that is particularly challenging considering he once served from the majority.

Cohen survived his 2022 re-election bid — just two years after his successful election, which flipped a seat from red to blue — in a cycle that was the political version of Game of Thrones’ red wedding. He won by less than a percentage point, a razor-thin victory that looked like a landslide compared to two of Cohen’s Democratic colleagues. Former Commissioner Mariella Smith lost her seat by nearly 6 percentage points, while former Commissioner Kimberly Overman lost hers by about 5 percentage points.

A bill aimed at changing how Florida taxes emerging tobacco alternatives has cleared its first committee stop this week with little opposition.

Sen. Nick DiCeglie, a St. Petersburg Republican, presented SB 754 before the Senate Committee on Regulated Industries, where it was reported favorably without debate.

The proposal would create a statutory definition for “heated tobacco products” and exempt those products from being taxed as cigarettes. Under current law, cigarettes are subject to a specific excise tax, while other nicotine products such as vaping devices are not. DiCeglie said the bill is designed to treat heated tobacco products more like vapes for tax purposes.

“This bill will statutorily define heated tobacco product, and excludes heated tobacco products from taxation as cigarettes,” DiCeglie told the committee Monday.

DiCeglie said heated tobacco products are a less harmful alternative to traditional cigarettes, though they still contain nicotine. He said the products heat tobacco rather than burn it, and claimed they contain significantly fewer harmful additives and toxins.

“We know that cigarettes are incredibly harmful, and this heated tobacco product is an alternative to that,” DiCeglie said. “This product has around 95% less harmful additives and toxins and all of those things, and is very similar to the vape product.”

DiCeglie said the bill aims to provide a tax incentive for smokers who may be trying to move away from combustible cigarettes.

According to the bill text, SB 754 defines heated tobacco products as tobacco-containing devices that heat, but do not burn, tobacco and produce an inhalable aerosol rather than smoke. The bill specifically removes heated tobacco products from both the cigarette excise tax and Florida’s “other tobacco products” tax category, while making conforming changes to state statutes. 

Democratic Sen. Darryl Rouson raised concerns about youth access, citing issues with minors obtaining vaping products. DiCeglie acknowledged the concern, but said SB 754 is limited to tax policy and does not address age restrictions or enforcement. He said he would research existing regulations and be prepared to provide more detailed answers at the bill’s next committee stop.

“I don’t want any product to get in the hands of kids,” DiCeglie said.

With no further debate, the committee voted to advance SB 754. The measure now moves forward in the legislative process as lawmakers head into the 2026 Legislative Session starting Tuesday.