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Republican, Democratic lawmakers discuss property taxes, insurance in Palm Beach County
Published October 22, 2025 at 5:29 PM EDT
Florida lawmakers Democratic State Sen. Lori Berman and Republican state Rep. Anne Gerwig convened at a bipartisan community forum in Lake Worth Beach to address the ongoing housing affordability crisis.
Florida Republicans rolled out at least six major property tax cut plans in October 2025 aimed at easing costs for homeowners while protecting school and law enforcement funding.
At the forum, organized by the League of Women Voters of Palm Beach County, Gerwig told WLRN she's concerned these property tax plans could weaken the Save Our Homes cap, which limits annual property value increases to 3%.
"I also understand the services that are provided from those taxes," she said. "Being a [former] local mayor and a local elected, I know what those monies go towards and that's important services for our community. So we gotta protect that."
Despite Gov. Ron DeSantis predicting few major changes this session, Gerwig said Florida may need closer supervision of insurance mediations and tougher action against insurance companies showing repeated bad behavior.
“ So we're looking at ways to make sure that residents know what their options are, that they have the right coverage, and that those coverages are doing what they're supposed to do," Gerwig added.
"We do have oversight of that. The CFO's [Chief Financial Office] office has oversight of that. So that's what I encourage everyone to do.”
Homeowners have faced soaring home insurance premium increases of up to nearly 40% this year, making Florida’s market among the nation’s most volatile.
Berman told WLRN she and the Democratic Caucus is urging the Republican-majority Legislature to focus on property insurance issues over property taxes.
"If you lower property taxes, people lose services," Berman said. "If you lower property insurance, people get money in their pockets and that's what we want. "
In early October 2025, all 11 members of the Florida Senate Democratic Caucus introduced the Affordability Agenda, a coordinated package of bills aimed at lowering property insurance costs, offering tax relief and strengthening consumer protections.
Gerwig said the caucus still needs to conduct a full financial review of each proposal.
Florida’s 2026 legislative session begins Jan. 13 and runs through March 13.
Wilkine Brutus
Wilkine Brutus is the Palm Beach County Reporter for WLRN. The award-winning journalist produces stories on topics surrounding local news, culture, art, politics and current affairs. Contact Wilkine at wbrutus@wlrnnews.org