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State Sen. Barbara Sharif briefs Sunrise commission on 2025 legislation: tax cuts, education, public safety and protections for seniors
Summary
State Senator Barbara Sharif summarized major items from the 2025 legislative session, including the state budget, a tax package (HB 7031) with hurricane‑preparedness and back‑to‑school holidays, education funding increases, and laws on autism credentials and protections for vulnerable seniors.
State Senator Barbara Sharif (District 35) visited the Sunrise commission on July 8 and summarized legislative highlights from the 2025 session and the June 30 budget signing.
Sharif said Governor Ron DeSantis signed a $117.4 billion state budget that included roughly $567 million in vetoes. She said she secured more than $4 million in funding for projects in her district with a focus on seniors and children. On taxes, she described HB 7031 as a package of about $1.3 billion in tax cuts and incentives, including a permanent sales‑tax exemption for hurricane‑preparedness supplies and for back‑to‑school supplies. She said the bill begins phasing out the commercial lease tax starting July 1 with anticipated completion by January of the following year.
Sharif also highlighted K–12 funding increases for teacher pay, school safety and additional mental‑health resources; environmental restoration and resilience funding for the Everglades and coastal resources; and SB 322 (property rights/squatting legislation) which she described as simplifying processes to remove unlawful occupants. She described SB 106 as new protections and legal tools to address online scams targeting seniors, including authority for law enforcement and state attorneys to freeze assets in suspected elder‑fraud cases. She also noted bills on autism industry standards (credentialing) and school cardiac emergency plans (CPR/AED requirements for staff).
Commissioners thanked Sharif for the update and asked for continued engagement on regional issues.
