Orange County officials outline priorities for 2025 session: housing, schools, transportation, public safety and courts

Local elected officials and agency leaders summarized a patchwork of legislative priorities for the 2025 session when they addressed the Orange County legislative delegation on Jan. 9. The requests spanned housing and homelessness, school funding and safety, transportation, courts and public safety, libraries, senior services and community‑based programs.

Housing and homelessness: Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said the county will press to preserve home‑rule authority and seek state support for housing affordability and homelessness services. Mayor Demings noted the county recently passed an ordinance to address unlawful camping and called for state funding to help local efforts. The Orlando Housing Authority urged full funding of state housing initiatives — including the Sadowski Affordable Housing Trust Fund — saying increased investment would support local redevelopment and stability for vulnerable families.

Schools and public safety: Teresa Jacobs, chair of the Orange County School Board, summarized OCPS’s 2025 legislative platform and asked for increased funding for the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP), a larger safe‑schools allocation to support school resource officers rather than arming school staff, and more…