- This is a production of WEDU PBS, Tampa, St.

Petersburg, Sarasota.

[music] - Coming up, we continue to follow developments inTallahassee.

Legislators are debating state regulations for artificial intelligence.

What does this mean for consumer protections and industry innovation?

It looks like voters won't be asked to eliminate property taxes during the midterm election.

Instead, proposals for a constitutional amendment are centered around reductions in taxes paid on homesteaded properties.

In education, legislators want to add more exemptions for parents to opt out of school, required vaccinations and the complaints from school districts over the schools of Hope law that legislators passed last summer are having a ripple effect during this session.

Lawmakers now considering limits to the law.

That's next on this episode of Florida This Week.

[music] Welcome back everybody.

I'm Lissette Campos.

It is week three of the Florida legislative session and there is plenty to cover on the panel.

Today we have Jackie Callaway, consumer investigator and media strategist, Divya Kumar, who is an education reporter with the Tampa Bay Times, Patrick Manteiga, who is the editor and publisher of La Gaceta, and Kathryn Varn, reporter with Axios.

Tampa Bay lawmakers are rethinking a law meant to expand access to education in struggling communities.

It allows private charter schools to set up inside traditional public schools.

Take a look.

The schools of Hope law allows certain charter operators to open campuses inside under-enrolled public schools, often using at no cost to them, the school district's facilities and services.

Supporters say it gives families more education choices, but school districts are painting another picture pointing to costs in Manatee County.

Officials estimate that hosting a charter like this could cost the district about $2,500 per student.

That's the cost associated with transportation, security and building operations.

All of it paid for by the public school district, not the charter school.

Now, some state leaders acknowledge the law passed last June may have gone too far.

The governor and legislative leaders say the changes to the law are under discussion to limit where the program applies, especially in communities that are not economically distressed.

The debate comes as districts deal with shifting enrollment.

One of those is Polk County, where school leaders recently approved a sweeping rezoning of all 16 high schools that to balance overcrowded and underused campuses.

It's a reminder of how closely school capacity and charter expansions are now linked.

Kathryn, I'd like to start with you.

What have been some of the arguments that you've heard from the school districts and the leaders and the teachers?

- Yeah, I mean, I think there's concerns about, you know, having, you know, potentially two different student schedules in one campus.

Um, you know, and serving, having to serve additional students with no additional money coming from the charters.

Um, so, you know, there's I think there's a lot of hand-wringing about, you know, the impact this could have on, on, you know, public schools that are already, you know, struggle with funding.

- So from the beginning, the response, it seems like the response from the school districts has not been a positive one.

There's been a lot of concerns.

- Yeah, definitely.

Um, and, you know, I think part of it was charters were sending out, you know, letters of intent, wanting to co-locate in schools for like dozens of public schools.

And so I think there was some concern that this could be a really, really widespread issue.

Now, the charter operators have said, you know, it's really only going to be a handful, but we're just kind of exploring all of our options.

But obviously if you're looking at, you know, co-locating and a bunch of schools across the district that's going to cause some heartburn.

- Divya, the legislators are saying we're tackling some of these concerns.

We've heard you at the school district, we're taking another look, maybe implementing some limits.

What what specifically is in the proposals that they're looking at?

- Yeah.

- So I think the governor himself has said that they're open to kind of considering who might actually be footing some of these additional costs, because I think the way the law is written right now has left a lot of questions about who is who's going to be covering janitorial costs or additional safety costs or transportation.

Um, for a whole population of new students that will be sharing the same space.

I think, you know, in I think some of the other things are looking at might be kind of specifically defining what counts as sort of unused or underutilized space.

I think in Hillsborough, there were some concerns where there is new construction, if a school is immediately, um, you know, at capacity, does that mean that like a school of Hope operator could sort of claim that space and it takes new schools to kind of some time to sort of build up their student population?

So I think they're going to be kind of looking at more clearly defining some of those things.

And some lobbyists have said that it might actually not be a legislative thing, but the Department of Education might kind of clarify that.

They had a rulemaking session earlier this week where they kind of heard a lot of feedback from kind of concerned parents and citizens, some who weren't fully sure if their concerns were being heard, but it might be addressed by the Department of Education themselves.

- Okay, so there's there's a lot to cover.

We're going to move on to our next topic, which is AI regulations.

As recently as the State of the State Address, governor DeSantis made it clear that AI regulations is among his top priorities to get done during this regular session.

It's a move that's contrary to the white House administration and its call for a national policy framework.

It's important to note that Florida is not the first state to take this issue on.

Four US states passed their own AI regulation bills more than a year before the Trump administration directive to the US Department of Justice.

That created an AI litigation council to review what they call onerous state laws hindering federal regulation of AI technologies.

Utah and Colorado passed bills in the summer of 2024.

Texas followed with its own set of AI rules in June of 2025, and three months later, it was California, tempered by the launch of ChatGPT three years ago and its rapid adoption in mainstream society.

Utah was the first to focus on generative AI, which is the type of artificial intelligence that can generate content based on patterns learned from large datasets.

The Utah law mandates that consumers be notified their interaction is with generative AI, not a human, specifically in the sectors of finance, legal, medical, and mental health.

In Colorado, its AI act mandates that companies developing and deploying AI systems implement risk management policies to prevent what they call algorithmic discrimination.

When AI tech is being used to decide access to education, employment, loans, financial services, insurance, health care, housing, and legal services in Texas.

It's responsible AI Governance Act bars the development and the use of AI systems to intentionally produce child pornography and sexually explicit content that imitates minors.

Meanwhile, California's regulation is focused on companies using computation or automated decision making technology to replace human decision making.

Companies collecting an individual's personal information must notify the consumer that AI is being used, and how the AI tech will process their personal information.

Companies in California must also provide consumers with an option to opt out.

Jackie, I'd like to start with you.

As you listen to all the different angles that states are coming at this problem of AI regulation, it's interesting to note all the different focuses.

Not everyone is doing consumer.

Sometimes it's on the developer.

What are we doing in Florida?

What are the proposals and how does that benefit the consumer in Florida?

- Well, if you look at the data that's come out on the use of AI Americans right now, the number one use of AI right now in America is for health and wellness, which also includes mental health.

And you think about you're putting your trust, and maybe you're taking advice from a chatbot that might not always have your best interest in mind.

The second thing people are using AI for more than anything else in the US, is for money and personal finance and getting you out of debt.

We don't know how reliable these answers are.

I am all for letting the states decide what's best for Florida versus us being under some kind of 50 state blanket federal regulation.

I think lawmakers in Florida may have an idea of maybe what Floridians want.

Judging from responses from their own constituents, we're looking at things right now with this, this latest resolution, this this latest introduction, like, um, guardrails for kids, the parents ability to restrict exactly what's happening on the kids accounts to also be the parents will have more control of what's coming into their home.

I love the idea that every single person, adult, child or otherwise will know if we're seeing a political ad or something from our government and maybe even non-governmental, that we're not dealing with a person.

I had a customer service call with an issue I was dealing with.

And normally these companies say I'm so and so and I'm, you know, AI and I'm here to help guide you.

The other day I called a company and it just didn't sound right.

And I actually asked the bot, I said, are you AI?

And it wasn't until I asked did they actually confirm that I was dealing with someone with AI.

I think we do need consumer protections in place.

- Patrick, what are you watching as you see this unfold on AI regulation?

- Well, you know, as we start to move forward to regulate this industry and our use of it, you know, first of all, I'd love just to see us label everything so that if you're getting graded, if you're a teacher using AI to grade papers that the students know about it.

If you're reading a newspaper and they used AI to generate the article that they label that as the author.

Um, we have law firms that are using AI to research cases and gone to court, and the judge is having a problem because the case law that it doesn't exist.

And so I think the easiest part is just labeling things so that people understand that there's this risk here.

And as somebody edited proofread this and is comfortable with it.

I think that the consumer issues, such as who pays for these 20% in electric generation that we're going to need to deal with AI.

I don't want to pay for it.

I'm sure the people at the table don't want to pay for it, so I'd much rather AI write that check.

And right now we really don't have a process of doing that in the state of Florida.

And so, you know, there's a whole list of problems and things that we've got to deal with and waiting on the federal government to do it.

They're going to be slow about it, and I'm sure they're not going to be complete about it.

So having states jump in is fine.

I am happy to have the conversation and I do think that we need to move fast.

- Kathyrn.

- Yeah.

I mean, I think transparency is a big part of it.

I mean, you know, I think if you've used AI at all, you know, you've probably experienced what they call a hallucinations, where it's either information that doesn't exist or it, you know, is old or outdated.

Um, so, uh, yeah, I mean, I think it's it's definitely worth having the discussion at, at the state and federal level.

But Patrick is probably right that, that, you know, the federal level, it might take a little longer.

And jumping on it now at the state level is, uh, you know, a reasonable move.

- It's a it's certainly a topic that we're going to continue to follow.

Moving on now to the homestead property taxes.

All indications are pointing to possible cuts, not elimination.

What started out as more than a dozen proposals than eight is now down to three moving forward in the state House.

All three keep school related property taxes in place, and they apply only to homesteads, that is, the homeowners primary residence.

House Joint Resolution 203 proposes a phased out approach to property taxes over the next ten years.

It is sponsored by Representative Monique Miller of Palm Bay.

House Joint resolution 213 caps the amount that local governments can increase the taxable value of the homestead to 3% over three years, instead of 3% every year.

The bill's sponsor is Representative Griff Griffitts of Panama City Beach.

House Joint Resolution 209 increases the homestead tax exemption by an additional $200,000, as long as that property is insured.

The bill's sponsor is Representative Demi Bousada of Coral Gables, and this is one that people are just following very closely because there's so much at stake here.

Jackie, I'd like to ask you about these proposals.

The one that I've received the most questions about is the Demi Busatta proposal.

And the question that I get is, why is it only for homeowners who have property insurance on the homestead?

- Well, to me, that seems like we'd be handing a big win to insurers.

We're saying that you can only get a tax break, you own a home, and you're just like millions of others, but maybe are hundreds of thousands or thousands of others.

Some people have paid their home off.

They simply can't.

Maybe the older population, they simply can't afford the 3 or 4000 it costs to insure a home.

I don't think people should be penalized if they're living in a paid for piece of property, and it is legal to self-insure your home that you are penalized if that's the route you're going to take.

I'd really rather see this be more equalized.

So if we're going to get a reduction in a lot of these, if you look at all three of these proposals, I think we're talking in many cases 1000 to $1600.

So a significant savings but not enough.

I feel that is going to break the bank of our local municipalities Just.

And one other thing.

I don't think you can talk about this without talking about the Doge and what they've come out and said, are these double digit and increases year after year after year in, in the budgeting and the windfall that our counties have had.

And this is what dosage is saying.

And you look and if you look at the papers yourselves, you will see that some of our counties and municipalities have had windfalls with property taxes.

Is there some waste?

Can they afford to cut back and maybe not spend as much?

And then there's a win win for everyone and the consumers get a slight break.

- Critics have said that the DOGE conversations have set up the table for us to eliminate property taxes.

- And none of those resolutions are are talking about that.

We're really talking about a reduction.

And can local governments afford a reduction?

And also if you're if people are paying attention, you'll see when there's a public comment portion for some of these hearings, the only people showing up that are mainly showing up for these are the people from the municipalities.

We haven't heard any homeowner saying, I'd really rather not save some money on my property insurance.

- Kathryn, so many speeches that the governor made over the past year have been about eliminating property taxes in Florida.

Would this be a failure on a loss for him if something is moved forward, placed on the ballot, that is not eliminating it all together?

- You know, that's an interesting that's an interesting question.

I mean, he's he's never been very specific, right, about an actual plan.

Um, that has been the talking point, eliminating property taxes.

Politicians will start with a grand sweeping.

You know, I want to eliminate this or get rid of this.

And, you know, most of the time it does kind of get hammered out in the details.

And it's a little more measured than the, you know, rhetoric at the beginning, sort of started.

- The there's another hot button issue that folks are talking about And it's vaccines, school vaccines.

Lawmakers are weighing changes to school vaccine rules as a new voter opinion poll comes out.

Florida Senate Bill 1756 would make it easier for parents to opt their children out of the required school immunizations.

It adds a conscience exemption.

Currently, the allowed exemptions are for medical and religious reasons.

Supporters claim that it strengthens parental rights and access to vaccine information.

Critics, however, warn that it undermines protections for public health.

The bill comes as a new statewide poll shows broad bipartisan support for the school vaccines, as they are now 79% of Florida voters in 2026 support leaving the current school vaccination requirements as is.

That poll done by McLaughlin & Associates.

Patrick, I'd like to start with you.

How do you see this playing out?

You talked about the verbiage for if you do not want the vaccine being very different from if you do want the vaccine.

- You know this parental rights is just words.

It's a selling point.

The problem is, is that the bill?

If you say, I want to vaccinate my children, it says, well, here, read all this information about the problems that could happen with vaccines.

If I say I don't want to vaccinate my children, they say, okay, they're not required to give me all the information about not vaccinating what these diseases can cause.

Um, and you know, who knows anymore, because we've been vaccinating for so long that these diseases haven't been happening in our population, so we really don't know the negative effects.

We're we're not in the age where, you know, 30,000 kids get polio every summer.

And you see this tragedy.

We don't have that anymore.

And so and so it really is an anti-vaccine bill, and we're still having anti-vaccine language.

This isn't about truth and honesty.

This is about putting their finger on the scale and pushing this to be no vaccines.

Listen, I love vaccines.

A good vaccine is great.

I had flu vaccine.

I got my shingles vaccine.

I mean, I'm sold on them.

And and I think that most of the public is also, I'd much rather trust my doctor than my legislator when it comes to vaccines.

- Divya, what is that?

What exactly is in the proposal?

What does it stay?

- Yeah.

So I think the proposal is trying to expand parental rights, as they're calling it, which allows, uh, I think like the existing law allows for exemptions from vaccines for religious or medical reasons.

Now there's, like, a conscience, um, reasons that parents can opt into.

And I think the bill sponsor has said, um, I don't think they don't expect the vaccination rates to change significantly based on this.

Um, but I think a lot of the public has really expressed a lot of concern, um, you know, about what this could mean for immunocompromised students or students with families or even chronic absenteeism.

- Some of some of the critics who are watching this have said that.

Of course, supporters point to parental rights, that very responsible parents who do their research have a right to say if they want this or not for their child.

But critics have said that, you know, the timing of this, it could not be worse.

You know, we've got the Florida Department of Health confirming multiple cases of measles and including two right here in Tampa Bay.

So as you follow this story in Tallahassee, what are some of the loudest voices saying?

- We're already in the danger zone.

The medical community recommends that we have 95% vaccinations for herd immunity.

Currently, our kindergartners in the state of Florida at 89%.

So we're sliding and we're going to continue to slide if this continues to happen.

And so.

And so this really is a very dangerous experiment because we're experimenting with kids lives.

- Well, in the time that we have left we would like to cover, you know, some of the other big stories that each of you have been following this week.

I'd like to start with you, Patrick.

I know you've been paying close attention to what's happening at Hillsborough College and the raise and the talk about a new stadium.

- Yeah.

So we have a non-binding memorandum of understanding where the Rays would be able to lease all of the Dale Mabry campus property, 113 acres, giving HC a corner of it for their campus.

And so this week I tried to put a value on it.

Uh, one of the and came up with that.

The property is probably worth about $500 million that the raise would be given or leased.

I mean, I don't know.

There's been no communication over whether this is a dollar a year lease or if this is a $20 million a year lease.

So we have to wait and see.

But this is the first step.

Second step is to they hired Joe Lappano to see if, uh, see if this building is going to be too tall and if the airport and the aviation authority.

- of Tampa International Airport.

- if they're going to be able to build this thing there.

They also have to talk to the airport about parking.

We would need to get more parking on their property.

Then you have to go through a county commission, see if they'll write a check for some stuff.

See if the city will write some money.

And so this is the first check box of about 35 that have to be done.

- Jackie.

- I can't stop thinking about the cold snap that we're in.

I mean, really, I can't think of any time in recent history, recent years that we have gone through literally a 15, 20 day cold snap after we get a little relief for one day next week, at least the meteorologists are telling us there's more coming.

And I think about the fact that it costs more to heat a home than it costs to cool a home.

We've already heard about the rate increases from the utility companies last year.

People got hit hard with that.

We know what the heat wave did to our power bills last summer.

This is going to be much worse, and I'm concerned about people who are already struggling.

There's not enough money at the end of the month and there are resources for help.

And I don't know if everyone knows that most of the utilities, especially the major utilities in this portion of Florida.

They offer a hardship program where you may be able to offset part of your bill, or maybe it's a one time type of thing.

They offer something called balanced billing, where you are put on more of an even keel type of bill.

So your bill is the same every month.

You can budget for it.

And then a lot of times these companies, these utilities will offer a one time in-home.

They'll send someone to your home to audit your home.

And it could be as simple as some duct tape on your ducts, or a certain kind of tape on your ducts for sealant or replacing a couple of windows.

Or maybe it's the front door that's leaking, but there are resources, and the last thing I'll say on that is St.

Vincent de Paul and Catholic Charities, those charities, those nonprofits, sometimes help people that are really hard hit with the payment of utility bill.

- Well, I'm also thinking about the cold because my heater broke this week, so, you know, but no, I mean, the story that's really I've been kind of obsessed with lately has been the proposed cruise port on the southern end of the Skyway in Manatee County.

And the development company, um, you know, has pointed to the fact that cruise ships are getting bigger.

We need to have a cruise port seaward of the Skyway so that they don't have to cross under the Skyway.

Um, and so that's kind of the, you know, sell in that way.

Um, but obviously the, you know, environmental implications of putting a cruise port in, it's basically in the Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve.

Um, and it's just north of Rattlesnake Key, which is another, um, you know, piece of property beloved by the community that they've wanted to see preserved for a long time.

And the cruise company has agreed to preserve Rattlesnake Key.

But obviously, there's a question of, okay, well, you can preserve this piece of land, but if you're putting the cruise port right next to it, you know, ecosystems work together.

You know, it's it's hard to isolate the impact of a, of a big cruise port.

so I don't think this issue is going away.

I think this proposal looks pretty serious and but the opposition is also pretty serious.

So this will be a really interesting thing to watch.

- Divya, as the education reporter, what's the other big story that you're following?

- Another piece of legislation that's been moving through so far is a bill that would make that would make it closer to making the superintendent of Hillsborough County Schools an elected position instead of an appointed position.

Um and critics of the bill say this would kind of infuse outside money and open up the door for more politics coming into education.

Um, but supporters say it would add accountability and make it easier to remove a superintendent.

Currently, the board members are elected and they appoint a superintendent.

And that's kind of been the case in the county, I think, since the 60s.

Um, if it does pass through the legislature, it would still go on the ballot for a referendum, and Hillsborough voters would need to decide if that's what that's how they wanted to pick a superintendent.

Right.

Um, but currently only Florida and Alabama are states that even have elections for superintendents.

So it should be interesting to see.

- Keep following that for us.

Thank you so much for coming in and all the information that you've provided on all of these important topics.

That's all the time that we have for today.

Many thanks to our panelists Patrick Manteiga, Divya Kumar, Kathyrn Varn, and Jackie Callaway.

Thanks for watching, everybody.

We'll see you next week.

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