State lawmaker reports $1.5M for northwest wastewater extension and other legislative wins

Oakland — A state legislator briefed the Town Commission on the 2025 Florida legislative session, highlighting targeted funding wins for local infrastructure and programs and warning about state bills that could curtail local authority. “One of the most important local wins that we were able to achieve, is $1,500,000 was secured for the Northwest Wastewater Extension as part of the South Lake Apopka initiative,” the lawmaker said, adding that the funds are intended to support needed water infrastructure and protect the Lake Apopka watershed. The legislator also reported a $150,000 appropriation for Central Florida’s Mothers’ Milk Bank, which provides donor human milk for vulnerable infants, and said the session continued funding for the Live Local Act, a program that supports workforce housing near job centers. The speaker said the enacted budget included more than $2 billion in tax relief measures, including a phase-out of the business rent tax and extended sales-tax holidays; he cautioned that “core drivers of affordability in housing and insurance remain unresolved.” The legislator warned commissioners about pending discussions on property-tax changes at the state level, including possible adjustments to homestead exemptions and caps on local millage rates. “As these proposals move forward, I will do my best to be working to ensure that any changes protect homeowners without weakening the city's ability to invest in public safety, invest in infrastructure, and other economic development,” he said. He also criticized recent state legislation that the speaker said preempted local authority on housing policy, tenant protections and certain environmental and workforce regulations, and voiced opposition to expansion of private-school vouchers without accountability. Commission members thanked the representative for the state funding. A resident at the meeting noted appreciation for the $1.5 million allocation to the sewer-extension work and for the town manager’s work leveraging other infrastructure projects to qualify for the state appropriation. Town staff later described that the $1.5 million in the state budget will fund a septic-to-sewer program that leverages the construction of local lift-station infrastructure and developer-installed sewer lines, and that the initial project submittal to the state included about 45 potential connections; staff said a contract with the state is anticipated in the fall and right-of-way construction and connection outreach will follow over the next two years.