STATE NEWS BRIEFS

Florida Capitol building with capital complex tower behind in Tallahassee [Stock image]

Tax collections top projection

Driven by sales taxes, state general revenue collections in November 2025 topped expectations by about 6 percent.

The Legislature’s Office of Economic & Demographic Research reported recently that Florida collected about $4.031 billion in net general revenue in November, $228.7 million over an amount forecast in August.

A panel known as the Revenue Estimating Conference meets periodically during the year to revise revenue forecasts, which are intended to help lawmakers make budget decisions. General revenue is closely watched because it plays a major role in funding education, health and prison programs.

During November, the state collected $3.014 billion in sales taxes, or $172.1 million more than expected. As another example, earnings on investments came in at $137.6 million, or $18.6 million more than forecast. Meanwhile, corporate income taxes totaled $95.7 million in November, or $24.6 million below expectations.

The report also said Floridians continue to have a “subpar” personal saving rate. It said the rate was 4 percent in September, down from 4.1 percent in August. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the typical annual saving rate was about 7 percent to 8 percent.

Bill targets ‘bump stock’ ban

A House Republican on Jan. 5 proposed repealing a ban on “bump stocks” that passed after the 2018 massacre at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Rep. Toby Overdorf, R-Palm City, filed the proposal (HB 6021) for consideration during the legislative session that will start Jan. 13.

Bump stocks are devices that make semiautomatic guns mimic fully automatic firearms. Similar repeal bills were proposed in 2022 and 2025 but did not pass. The ban was approved in 2018 as part of a law that also raised the minimum age to purchase rifles and other long guns from 18 to 21.

A bump stock wasn’t involved in the Parkland shooting, where 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz used a semiautomatic rifle to kill 17 people. But rifles outfitted with bump stocks were involved in other mass shootings, most notably a 2017 shooting in Las Vegas.

In 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives rule enacted after the Las Vegas shooting that defined a semiautomatic rifle equipped with a bump stock attachment as a machine gun. The court found the rule exceeded the bureau’s authority.

Venezuela unlikely to affect gas prices

Gasoline prices in Florida are expected to “fluctuate modestly” during the next few weeks, but they shouldn’t be significantly affected by activities in Venezuela, according to fuel analysts.

Florida motorists paid an average of $2.81 a gallon on Jan. 5 for regular unleaded gas, up 7 cents from a week earlier, according to the AAA auto club. But AAA said seasonal demand and global market conditions are having a bigger effect on prices than the U.S. capture Saturday of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.

“Although Venezuela was once a significant producer of crude oil, its exports have been limited for years due to sanctions,” AAA said in a news release. “Analysts say global supply remains sufficient, though any major disruption could put upward pressure on prices.”

AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins linked current prices to oil supplies remaining steady and “softened” demand compared to previous years.

“While global events can influence prices, there’s no indication yet that recent developments will have a significant effect,” Jenkins said in a prepared statement.

Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, also downplayed impacts on gas prices.

“There is absolutely no firm evidence even under the best possible outcome in (Venezuela) that global gas prices will decline to decade level lows,” De Haan posted on X. “It’s extremely unlikely that developments in VZ (Venezuela) have any major impact on US gas prices in 2026.”

Florida’s average price has been below $3 a gallon since Dec. 1, 2025. The national average price on Monday was $2.81 a gallon, down 2 cents from a week earlier. At this time last year, the Florida average was $3.11 a gallon, while the national average was $3.06, according to AAA.