Florida House District 2 Representative Alex Andrade: Down in Florida House District 2, Representative Alex Andrade just dropped the newsno legislation sponsorship for a 2024 referendum on Perdido Key’s incorporation.
Now, here’s the scoop. That feasibility study, well, it got a bit carried away, overestimating revenues (that’s taxes collected) by a solid $327 per household. Yikes. And to fix this little hiccup, the local bill had two options: either bump up taxes on every household by $327 or toss in another exemption to Florida law.
But hold on, Andrade wasn’t having any of that. In his words, “I would not raise taxes or lower the legal requirements to allow the referendum on the ballot.”
We Are Perdido, the crew pushing for incorporation, had a moment of victory back on October 26. Picture this: the Northwest Florida Legislative Delegation hearing in Escambia County.
There, Andrade teamed up with Florida Senator Doug Broxson and House District 1 Representative Michelle Salzman. The trio gave a unanimous thumbs up to legislation that could’ve landed an incorporation vote for Perdido Key on the November 2024 ballot.
But, and there’s always a but, before this local bill could strut its stuff, it needed a review from the Florida Department of Revenue and a few House committees. And that’s where things hit a roadblock.
Andrade “We determined that significant changes would be required to the proposal.” In simple terms, it’s a no-go. He’s already had a sit-down with We Are Perdido, telling them to take this year to do some extra homework and get the community talking if they decide to give it another shot in the future.
There you have it, friends, the latest from the Florida political stagePerdido Key’s incorporation dreams are on pause, at least for now.
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Fentrice Driskell has been serving as the Minority Leader of the Florida House of Representatives since November 21, 2022. In the House, there are a total of 120 seats, with the majority belonging to the Republican party (84), and the minority belonging to the Democratic party (35). Currently, there is also one vacant seat.