TALLAHASSEE – Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to express increased support for the property tax cut measure the Legislature put before voters on the November ballot.
But he still isn’t going to be at the forefront pushing the proposal to voters and believes his approach lawmakers modified was better.

“I’ll be involved somehow,” DeSantis said this week during a grant distribution event at Florida State College at Jacksonville. “I don’t know if it’s going to be, like, barnstorming and holding campaign events.”
He said he won’t lead a political committee and fundraise across the state for Amendment 3, as the measure will appear on the ballot.
“I’m not going to do that just because you know I had an amendment a little bit different,” DeSantis said, referring to the changes made by Republican lawmakers to his proposal.
The initial plan drafted by DeSantis increased the homestead exemption from $50,000 to $250,000 over two years. But the Legislature amended it to exempt the portion of the property tax bill that pays for K-12 schools.
Another provision lowers the cap on annual increases to non-homestead property assessments from 10 percent to 5 percent.
Opponents argue the proposal will result in dramatic cuts to essential local services and shift taxes to renters, commercial property and first-time home buyers.
A legislative staff analysis of the resolution put the revenue impact on local governments at $4.95 billion in fiscal year 2027-2028, growing to $8.78 billion the following year and eventually $11.86 billion by fiscal year 2031-2032.

ELECTION SUIT

The Southern Poverty Law Center and Democracy Defenders Fund filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Black Voters Matter Fund and the League of United Latin American Citizens over a law (HB 991) requiring voters to prove their citizenship in future elections.
The suit filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida contends the law violates the National Voter Registration Act by requiring additional proof of citizenship beyond that required by federal law, blocking voters from being registered, applying list maintenance rules unevenly across counties and purging voters within 90 days of a federal election.
The citizenship requirement doesn’t take effect until 2027, after the 2026 election cycle. Voting rights groups have also filed lawsuits against the new law.
The bill is Florida’s version of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, a federal proposal that requires voters to provide proof of citizenship when they register to vote and present a photo ID when casting their vote at the ballot box. The federal bill, which hasn’t passed Congress, restricts mail ballots, Florida’s measure does not. Limiting mail ballots is a priority of President Donald Trump.
DeSantis anticipated lawsuits when he signed the bill on April 1.
“They go to a liberal judge. The liberal judge sides with them. Then we appeal and we win,” DeSantis said at the time.

LADY COLUMBIA

Gov. Ron DeSantis harkened back to America’s beginnings as he brought a statue of Lady Columbia to Lake City this week as part of his administration’s celebrations of the nation’s 250th anniversary this year. Lake City is the county seat of Columbia County in north Florida.
Lady Columbia is often portrayed as an aspirational goddess holding a sword, olive branch or laurel to represent justice, peace and victory.
“The Lady Columbia statue stands on a pedestal depicting the Sunshine State’s iconic symbols, landscapes, and historic moments,” DeSantis said.
Now most frequently seen as the logo for Columbia Pictures, Lady Columbia was the first emblem of the United States, introduced during the colonial period, serving as a rallying cry during the Revolution and later, with “Hail Columbia” as the nation’s first unofficial anthem, she served as the symbol of the country’s westward expansion. But as the nation grew, the welcoming sight of the Statue of Liberty replaced Lady Columbia by the start of the 20th century.
The statue series includes a replica of the Liberty Bell in Liberty County, a statue of President Abraham Lincoln in The Villages, a statue of President Thomas Jefferson in Jefferson County, President James Monroe in the Florida Keys in Monroe County, Alexander Hamilton in Hamilton County, Benjamin Franklin in Franklin County, a statue of President Andrew Jackson in Jackson County, a statue of President Ronald Reagan at Florida International University, President Calvin Coolidge at Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales, abolitionist Frederick Douglass in St. Augustine, a statue of Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de Leon in the state Capitol, and statues of George Washington in the Capitol and Washington County.

A Tampa Bay Times/ Miami Herald analysis of state records put the cost for commissioning and acquiring the statues at nearly $2 million, with additional statues of President John Quincy Adams, Christopher Columbus and baseball legends Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth still pending.

SOCIAL MEDIA POST OF THE WEEK

“Tiger should be able to drive a golf cart on the golf course.” — Gov. Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) after professional golfer Tiger Woods agreed to give up his driver’s license as part of a no contest plea that came with a reduced charge of reckless driving and refusal to submit to a lawful test following a March 2026 rollover car crash in Martin County.

The Wakulla News has closed.
The newspaper, which had been the oldest continuously operated business in Wakulla County, reportedly shut down two weeks ago.
News Editor Steve Steiner sent out emails to contributors announcing the closure.
The Wakulla Sun, the staff of which are all former employees at the News, began four years ago with a goal of being a locally owned, locally controlled source of news.

Musicians are invited to participate in the 5th annual Crawfordville Seventh Day Adventist Church gospel sing on Sept. 26.
The church welcomes new vocal, instrumental or group participants. The church requests each special music presenter lead a song from a list to be provided.

Contact the church at gospelsing22@yahoo.com or call 850-888-3301. Provide your name or group name, church name, and title of your special music song.
The Crawfordville SDA Church is located at 107 Shadeville Road.

Presentation of $1,500 recently from Wakulla Moose Lodge 2510 to local VA in honor of Paul Peters, a veteran member who passed away recently. The Pool players collected these funds for this donation. A big thank you to our Pool players! (Photo submitted)

Landon Davis, well known locally for his work as an umpire fro 34 years in youth and college baseball, from Florida to Texas, was killed in a head-on crash on Aug. 11.

A service will be held on Saturday, Aug. 22, at 10 a.m. at Tallahassee State College athletic field in Tallahassee.
A burial will be held at Lake Ellen Baptist Church in Crawfordville the same day at noon.
Davis umpired for more than 15 years at Florida State, Tallahassee Community College and Florida A&M.
Problems with nerve damage in recent years had led to him cutting back on his umpire work.
He worked in chemical sales with Tribe Chemical.