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June 15, 2026 13 mins
Florida's Governor discussed property tax and more.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
All, good morning. Welcome to the third hour of the
Morning Show with Preston Scott. It is Monday, June fifteenth,
halfway through the month of June. Already I cannot believe it.
And show five six and twenty three. He's Oseiah, I'm Preston,
and this is Florida's Governor Rondo Santis. Governor. Good to
have you back on the show.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
How are you, good morning, I'm doing great.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
We were just talking about the congressional baseball game. What
was your batting average when you were playing that game?

Speaker 2 (00:28):
It was pretty high. I mean, they're not exactly Nolan
Ryan out there. But it was funny because when I
got elected, I was, you know, I was one of
the younger members. I think I was like thirty three
thirty four, and you go and meet the congressman as
you're an elect and they knew that. I was like
captain of the Yeo baseball team and played all this
stuff and said like they loved me. They're like, oh,

(00:49):
we need you, we need the firepower or whatever, and
so you're able to do. But they play it at
the Nationals Park and everything, and my thing was was
like all I wanted to do is hit a home run, right,
and so like I had one, and I crushed it
into a soal by probably about twenty feet. So that
was probably the closest I had ever came. That had
some extra base hits, but not not the highest level

(01:11):
of baseball that I've ever played, that's for sure.

Speaker 1 (01:13):
I'm laughing at the prospect though, of potential Texas Congressman
Mark to Shera being on the g He's going to be.

Speaker 2 (01:21):
I mean, it is going to be absolutely I mean,
they'll have him pitch, I'm sure, and you know, I mean,
I'm sure he's I'm sure he can throw in the
eighties still, and so he's going to do that. He'll hit,
He'll hit a couple of home runs, and it'll be
lights out, you know. In the nineties, the Republican, the
legend Republican baseball player was actually former NFL Hall of

(01:41):
Famer Steve Largin was a congressman from Oklahoma. And Largin,
I mean still a very good athlete, even like in
his forties or fifties, and he's just mowing these guys
down and everything. So yeah, I think that that's going
to that's going to shake it up pretty good, you know.
To Shera was. I mean, he was a top flight
big league It wasn't like he was just like a
hangar on. I mean he was very productive and had

(02:02):
a really good career. So so I can safely bet.
I don't know if they have Calchy odds on next
year's congressional baseball game, but for those of you who
do that, you should definitely put it put money on Republicans. Now,
I think you're gonna probably be okay.

Speaker 1 (02:16):
Hey, what are your thoughts on what came out of
the special session with regard to property tax? Just give
me your reaction to what's going to be on the ballot.

Speaker 2 (02:28):
Well, one, I mean, you know, we put out a proposal.
This is not my proposal. We had the calculator. People
were excited about that and really was a transformational vision.
The idea that you know, as a Florida resident, you
know you have this homestead exemption that should be one
hundred percent. You should own your home. Government shouldn't use
it as an ATM. You know, property tax revenue is

(02:50):
nearly doubled in seven years, and yet have the services
gotten twice as good. I mean, so this has allowed
government to take a lot from people. We had the
ability to do it. We've got a state surveplus, we're
going to help out the local governments and the transition,
and we had it. You know, it was very well structured.
Now the legislature they really weren't. I think I don't
think they really shared the vision of you own your

(03:11):
own home and that. But this is still a pretty
significant property tax relief for people. And you look at
all the challenges that Americans, not just Floridians, but Americans
have had with groceries and energy and all these things
over many many years now, certainly since the COVID pandemic
and the response to that by the federal government by

(03:32):
spending all the money in the FED. It's been tough.
I mean, that's basically been an invisible tax on people.
The number one thing we can do in Florida is
roll that back so that people are able to do so.
You're going to end up having people with really significant
probably save you know, two thirds of their tax bill,
certainly folks who are more working in middle class. And

(03:55):
you know, as you get older, as it goes up,
you know, the exemption will eventually go up, but for
now it's going to be a big deal. So look,
I think it's really good. Had we not raised the issue,
nothing would have been on the ballot. But folks have
like gone, you know, they got the calculator we put out.
I just I don't want to be under you know,
misunderstanding that was related to the proposal we had. This

(04:17):
one is different. It's good. I don't think it's as
far reaching as ours, but I'll be voting for it.

Speaker 1 (04:21):
Just one last question for you on the property tax
amendment as it's fashioned right now, have you and your
team had a chance to look and determine I've been
told by two different people, two different things. Does the
measure allow for that two hundred and fifty thousand dollars
after the second year exemption to be raised by the
legislature aside from.

Speaker 2 (04:41):
The Oh yeah, I mean it's an indirect way by
the legislature. But basically the legislature will adopt an implementing bill,
and so I look, they're going to have to do it.
I'll work with them in November December. I think it'll
be a kin to like a taxpayer Bill of Rights,
which will basically limit local spending to population growth and inflation,
and then anything above that then then then the the

(05:03):
limit gets raised, and so it'll end up being a
phase out of the limit over a period of time,
and that'll be up for the legislature. But two fifty
is the opening salvo. Two fifty is not the end.
Now they they apply that exemption for your property to
every taxing authority, accept school districts, which you know, I
think a lot of people are like, well, wait a minute,

(05:24):
like my house or is in my house. So my
proposal applied it to all taxing authorities and kind of
gave you that. And the reason is just, you know,
we've got a lot of money coming in from other ways.
But nevertheless, for those other taxing authorities, it will be
an exemption. Two fifty will be the opening salvo. Legislature
is going to have to do a bill to implement that,

(05:44):
and I think it'll be something along the lines of
a Textpaer bill. It's interesting the state of Florida. So
I have the budget now, I'll finish that by the
end of the month. I got to do right item
veidos and I'm gonna liign item veto enough. It's not
going to be like huge compared to what I've done
in the past. But we got to we got to
pair it back, and that will be the fourth straight
year where we're spending less than a year before, not

(06:06):
even an inflate yes, and inflation adjusted, yes, in population adjusted,
but just at nominal dollars. Florida's had a stable budget
at the state for the last four years. That's not
true for local governments. I mean, we've seen some of
these budgets double in the last seven years. So if
they had just spent consistent with inflation and population growth

(06:27):
over the last seven years, we wouldn't even be needing
to have this discussion because you'd have ten, fifteen, maybe
twenty billion dollars that would not have been spent and
then could go back in the hands of the tax
and the pots of the taxpas. You know, I read
some of these headlines like, oh, you know, Manitique County,
you know going to lose you know this much, and

(06:48):
I'm just thinking, it's not Manatee County's money. It's your
money and your property. The fact that they're not able
to take as much as they did in the past,
that's a benefit to the property own are in the taxpayer,
And it's like, whose money is this? This is not
the government's money to begin with.

Speaker 1 (07:06):
You know, I spend some time and I want to
get your thoughts on this earlier this morning, on what
I think are the ridiculous demands that the Republican Party
of Florida has put on candidates for governor, not allowing
for debates because they don't reach this mythical ten ten
ten arbitrary status governor. I just I get so frustrated

(07:27):
with the party, whether it's the state or the national Party.
They don't seem to be able to get out of
their own way.

Speaker 2 (07:33):
Yeah, it's ridiculous. So they've taken this position. It's basically
just the chairman saying, you can only participate in debates
that are sponsored and sanctioned by the Republican Party of Florida,
and if you go to a TV debate that we
don't sanction, you're going to be penalized. But oh, by
the way, the debates that we're sanctioning were not actually
not going to put them on because only our preferred

(07:54):
candidate is qualified under these bogus metrics. I can tell
you those metrics I would not have caught for the
debate that we did in Fox News in June of
twenty eighteen, I didn't have ten thousand individual donors. I
was down pretty significantly in the polls fifteen fifteen points
or so. And I just remember, you know, the rpof
was not for me. I walked out on that debate.

(08:17):
Go go to your congressman, just Santas. It was like
a kind of a golf clap. My opponent walked out. Man,
it was like Elvis entered the building just rocket. I mean,
it was backed and everything. Now, by the end of
the debate, I had won, and I think the crowd
realized that, and then the race kind of was over
at that point. But the reality is is when you
do this stuff that's not on the level, voters get picked.

(08:39):
Even voters that are supporting are inclined to support your
preferred candidate. They know it stinks, and so your betted
they would have been better off just not being involved
in this process and saying candidates can do what they
want when you limit them from artificially limit them from
participating in other debates. Then you canceled the one debate

(09:00):
you claimed you were going to do. People look at
that and say, come on, head, you win, tails, we lose.
Give me a break. So I think that they have
totally botched this. And here's the thing. The reason why
we went from three hundred thousand more registered Democrats when
I got elected in eighteen to now one point five
million more Republicans today is not because of the rpof hierarchy.

(09:22):
It's because Florida has delivered major victories. We have fought
and defeated the left on a variety of fronts. We
stood up for people's freedom during COVID, we fought the woke.
We've set up for law enforcement, on and on it,
ghost supported taxpayers, run surpluses, paid down debt, basically governed
the way most people center right thinks that you should govern,

(09:44):
and governed very successfully. That is what has caused people
to identify with the Republican Party. And if it becomes
about you know what insiders are trying to do to
angle themselves for this, or that you are going to
alienate people. So I think it's a huge pick. They
need to do a debate, and look, I'm willing to
kind of help with this. You know, I know people
that are that have the big TV platforms. I'm sure

(10:05):
some of them would be willing to do it. But
you've got to put a debate on TV, and you
got to let the candidates have their say. And you know,
here's the thing, Preston. The filing deadline just ended on Friday,
so we didn't even know for sure who the field was.
Anyone could have filed up until that point, right, And
so the notion of well, you don't have enough name

(10:26):
id before the campaign really has started is absurd. It's
basically a way to make it impossible for any candidate
other than the machine back candidate that raises all the
special interest money. And you know, Florida is a very
difficult state to get known, and it's massive media markets,
it's very expensive, and it's hard to raise that kind

(10:46):
of money. I got out spent three four to one
and was fortunate to win. But like a lot of times,
that doesn't work out for people. So having a platform
where candids can get out articulate their vision contrast with
the other candidates there will be broadcast statewide, gives voters
an opportunity to look at these folks and I think
that I think that they're First of all, it's the

(11:07):
right thing to do, but second of all, it's what
the RPOF promised to do, and you know, kind of
give with one hand and take what the other doesn't work.

Speaker 1 (11:14):
Well, as you well know, and you know better than
most anybody else. Governor, the north half of the state,
included the Big ben in the Panhandle, is one hundred
and eighty degrees different than the central southern part of
the state.

Speaker 2 (11:27):
Yeah. Look, well we are five states into one. Yeah,
I mean, you know, you look at northwest Florida, you
look at Northeast Florida's even different than northwest Florida. You
look at the center part of the state, like the
Tampa Bay area where I grew up, and then you
look into Orlando, all kinds of stuff. Southwest Florida is
like the Midwest transplanted to southwest Florida. You know, Miami

(11:49):
is like, you know, it's almost like a separate state
in terms of the culture, Palm Beach and all that. More.
New York kind of influenced all this stuff, and that's
like you've got to be as a candidate, you know,
you got to be able to harmonize that. And so
for example, when I ran in twenty two, we were
able to win record margins in the Panhandle, but I
was also the first Republican to win Palm Beach County

(12:10):
in forty years. Not the same type of voters in
Palm Beach County as you would get in like Oklahoosa County. Right,
it just is what it is, and you've got to
be able to do that. And so having a process
or a platform where people from all these different areas
of the state are able to kind of take measure
and then make a judgment, you know, I think is
a good thing, and I think it should happen. And

(12:32):
like I said, I mean, I'm willing to help make
it happen because I think it's good for the voters.
And you know what, if you have a candidate that
you really like and there's a debate and they hash
it out and the voters come down differently, then what
are you going to do? You know, right, you're going
to go and you're going to support the nominee and
go forward. If you feel like it's been rigged, well
then I think it's a different kind of response once

(12:55):
the primary ends. And yeah, I think a lot of
people like in the party now think oh we's got
one point five million advantage, it doesn't matter. You know,
we're gonna win. No matter what. And that's true until
it's not right. Uh, you know, you could have a
challenging year in twenty twenty six. Certainly the winds don't
look very favorably. You know, maybe the Democrats get their
act together. I don't know. I mean, they've obviously been

(13:15):
they haven't had much of a pulse since I've been governor.
But you know, who knows going forward. So you got
to do things right, and you've got to do things
above board.
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