2025 Duval Legislative Report Card

How Did Your Duval Legislators Vote? Here's What the Data Says:

Every year, Florida lawmakers vote on legislation that directly impacts our lives—from education and housing to public health and civil rights. But unless you’re watching every committee meeting and reading every bill, it’s easy to lose track of who’s doing what in Tallahassee.

That’s why I put together my first-ever Duval Legislative Report Card—to give everyday voters a clearer picture of how our local representatives are showing up (or not) for our communities.

🧮 How I Scored Them

For this report card, I tracked 17 key bills from the 2025 legislative session—some of the worst we saw all year, plus a few rare bright spots. These included attacks on public education, rollbacks on labor protections, censorship bills, and a few bipartisan efforts worth supporting.

Each legislator received:

• –1 point for each harmful vote

• +1 point for each good vote

• –1 point for each missed vote

Their final score determined their letter grade, with some discretion for patterns of behavior and overall engagement. A few legislators got credit for consistent advocacy, if their raw numbers landed between grades .

📊 The Full Report Card

Here’s the full breakdown, including how many bad bills each legislator supported, how many good votes they cast, and how often they were absent:

And for the real data geeks, here is my full breakdown here: Full Data Set

🔍 What the Grades Reveal

• Rep. Kiyan Michael (HD 16) earned the lowest score by far, missing two-thirds of the votes we tracked and casting no votes in support of positive legislation.

• Reps. Nixon and Sen. Davis stood strong against harmful legislation and showed up consistently.

• Other lawmakers like Reps. Duggan, Black, and Daniels voted for the majority of harmful bills but still managed to avoid a failing grade by showing up and casting some good votes.

💬 Why This Matters

Legislators count on voters not paying attention. When harmful bills pass without consequences at the ballot box, the cycle repeats. This report card is one small step toward breaking that cycle.

I hope this helps you feel more informed—and more empowered—as we head toward the next election. And if you have suggestions for how to improve this tool, I’m all ears. This is just the beginning.

👉 [Want to talk about it? Send me an email here: rachel4hd16@gmail.com]

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Grassroots Petitioning Just Got Harder in Florida — Here’s What You Need to Know About HB 1205

On May 2, 2025, Governor DeSantis signed HB 1205 into law — and with it, citizen-led petitioning in Florida just got a whole lot harder.

This new law doesn’t just target paid petition firms. It sweeps up everyday volunteers and adds a web of red tape that will chill grassroots democracy and make it harder for communities to put issues directly on the ballot.

Here’s what’s changing — and what you need to know to stay safe and effective:

🚨 Key Changes Starting July 1

• Volunteers are now treated like professional petitioners.
  Under the new law, anyone who collects more than 25 signed petitions must register with the Florida Division of Elections — even if you're an unpaid volunteer.

• There are new rules about who can collect.
  Only Florida residents, U.S. citizens, and those without felony convictions are allowed to register as petition circulators.

• New petition forms are required.
  Starting July 1, old forms must be thrown out, and only the new official forms can be used.

• Signed petitions should no longer be returned to volunteer hubs.
  To stay compliant, we’re shifting to a distribute-only model. Volunteers will hand out blank petitions and give voters pre-stamped, addressed envelopes so they can mail them directly.

• Volunteers should NOT collect completed petitions.
  Beginning July 1, if you're not registered as a circulator, you cannot collect or hold signed petitions — doing so may trigger penalties under the new law.

💡 Why This Matters

Citizen-led amendments are one of the last ways Floridians can make change when lawmakers won’t listen. From raising the minimum wage to legalizing medical marijuana, we’ve used ballot initiatives to do what the legislature refused to do.

HB 1205 is a direct attack on that power. It’s meant to intimidate and complicate — but we’re not backing down.

We’re adapting. We’re educating. And we’re still collecting petitions — just differently.

📬 How You Can Still Help

✅ Distribute blank petitions to your friends, coworkers, and neighbors
✅ Help them fill out the form correctly and give them the pre-stamped return envelope
✅ DO NOT collect or hold completed petitions unless you’re officially registered

This is a shift — but we’re still in the fight.

🗓️ Stay tuned for more updates as we round the corner to the July 1st deadline. I’ll continue sharing tips and tools to help you stay compliant, informed, and empowered.

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First Look at Florida’s 2025 Budget

2025 Florida Budget Passed — Here’s What We Know So Far

After 103 days of legislative maneuvering, the Florida House and Senate have officially passed a $115 billion budget for fiscal year 2025–2026. While the full impact will come into focus over the next few weeks — especially as we wait to see what the Governor signs or vetoes — here’s my first look at where the money’s going, and who it’s really serving.

🏦 Big Reserves, Limited Relief

Lawmakers reduced the Governor’s original proposal by about $500 million, citing caution over federal funding cuts and a possible recession. They also set aside $1.5 billion over the next two years for the Budget Stabilization Fund, bringing reserves to $4.4 billion — money that hasn’t been touched since the Great Recession.

📚 What Got Funded

There are some wins worth noting:

• $29 billion for K–12 public education

• $3.9 billion for the State University System

• $147 million for Florida’s HBCUs

• $277+ million for state colleges and universities

• $17 billion for health and human services

• $176 million in additional Medicaid rate increases

• $10 million for food banks, $28 million to support local agriculture

Importantly, funding for AP, IB, and AICE programs was preserved, thanks to sustained public pressure.

But the teacher pay increase, touted as a major win, breaks down to roughly $20 per paycheck for most teachers — a far cry from meaningful wage relief.

💸 Business Breaks Over Basic Needs

The state’s $1.9 billion tax package includes:

• $905 million to eliminate Florida’s business lease tax

• A permanent back-to-school sales tax holiday

• Temporary tax holidays for disaster prep, hunting/camping gear, and even NASCAR tickets

These sales tax breaks make good headlines but do little to address structural issues like housing affordability, property insurance costs, or rent spikes. There’s no major property tax relief, no rental assistance, and no meaningful support for struggling families.

🚨 The Return of “Schools of Hope” — Through the Back Door

One of the most frustrating moments in the final hours: $6 million for the “Schools of Hope” charter school programwas quietly added to the budget — even after the policy bill failed in committee.

This controversial initiative allows charter operators to bypass local control and set up shop in low-income neighborhoods, drawing resources away from public schools. By adding it in at the budget level, lawmakers avoided transparency and public debate.

🧾 What’s Next

This is my first pass at understanding the full scope of this year’s budget. There’s still a lot to dig into — and I’ll be looking more closely at line items, vetoes, and how these numbers translate into real outcomes for everyday Floridians.

Stay tuned for more in-depth analysis in the coming weeks — and as always, thank you for staying engaged and informed.