Gov. Ron DeSantis held a press conference Thursday during which he continued ripping into the Florida House, focusing on a proposal addressing rising condominium association fees.
The governor took the Senate’s side on dueling proposals that committees in neither chamber have heard in weeks, saying Miami Republican Rep. Vicki Lopez’s condo bill, HB 913, puts the interests of developers above that of residents.
“Legislative session only has a few more weeks left,” DeSantis said at the City of Sweetwater Community Center.
“There has not been meaningful action in the Florida House of Representatives to give Floridians relief from the condo crisis that the legislation itself has caused, and we’ve got to be willing to step up and do the right thing.”
Following the 2021 collapse in Surfside of a 12-story condo that killed 98 people, lawmakers passed legislation giving condos with three or more stories a Dec. 31, 2024, deadline to complete structural integrity reserve studies, to be repeated every 10 years, detailing how much a condominium association needs to save to pay for roof and structural maintenance.
One of the differences between the pending proposals is that Lopez wants to bar the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. from issuing or renewing policies for condominium buildings that haven’t completed their building inspections.
The Senate bill, SB 1742, sponsored by Fleming Island Republican Sen. Jenifer Bradley, would allow condo associations to invest money in reserve funds meant for repairs, whereas Lopez’s bill would allow them to take out loans to cover necessary repairs without requiring approval from association members.
Lopez told Florida Phoenix on Thursday that she hadn’t watched the press conference and that the lack of movement of the bills reflects that the chambers are working on a resolution.
“He should probably wait to see which condo bill actually passes from the House before he opines on it,” Lopez said.
Earlier this week, the governor held another press conference in Panama City Beach, during which he praised another Senate proposal on boating regulation while slamming the House for its inaction.
But on Thursday, he repeatedly thanked the wrong senator for the condo bill, saying Miami Republican Sen. Ileana Garcia was the sponsor instead of Bradley.
“I want to thank the folks in the Florida Senate who have moved credible legislation forward,” DeSantis said Thursday. “I don’t know what has gotten into the Florida House of Representatives.”
This isn’t the first time DeSantis has criticized Lopez. He publicly chastised her on X after she stopped the Florida Lottery’s Secretary John Davis from talking about immigration when he was supposed to brief new lawmakers about his agency and its work.