Leon County adopts 2026 state and federal lobbying priorities, opposes major property tax rollbacks

The Leon County Board of County Commissioners on Oct. 1 approved its 2026 state and federal legislative priorities, voting to oppose proposed statewide property-tax rollbacks, back restoration of passenger rail in North Florida, seek protections for election workers' personal information and add a set of gun-safety measures to the county's lobby agenda.

The action followed presentations from county staff and the county's state and federal lobbying teams, which briefed commissioners on the range of ballot and statutory changes under consideration in Tallahassee and in Washington, D.C., and on the county's approach to seeking line-item state and federal funding for infrastructure and capital projects.

Why it matters: Commissioners and county staff said the proposals circulating at the state level — several drafted as constitutional amendments or statutory changes — could sharply reduce local ad valorem revenue and force deep cuts to county programs unless offset by alternative revenue sources or state compensation.

County staff and outside lobbyists outlined likely legislative timelines for the coming months and identified priorities the board asked them to pursue, including targeted appropriation requests. The board approved the full list of priorities individually after discussion and amendments.

Supervisor of Elections concerns and records exemption

The board began the meeting with a brief presentation by the Leon County Supervisor of Elections, who asked commissioners for help at the state level in limiting public access to poll-worker personal information. The supervisor said changes to state driver's-license numbering and greater use of driver's-license information in election processes have created public confusion and increased calls to the office. He urged “any help we could get” to push for exemptions that would prevent release of poll workers’ names and phone numbers under public-records requests, saying release of that data had led in at least one case to disruptive calls at polling places.

Ken Morris, who provided the board's property tax update, said the suite of proposals under consideration in the Florida House would not affect school funding but could include language protecting law-enforcement budgets from reductions tied to property-tax changes. Morris warned…