The Florida Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. state of Florida. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber,the Senate,and a lower chamber,the House of Representatives. Article III,Section 1 of the Florida Constitution,adopted in 1968,defines the role of the legislature and how it is to be constituted. The legislature is composed of 160 state legislators. The primary purpose of the legislature is to enact new laws and amend or repeal existing laws. It meets in the Florida State Capitol building in Tallahassee.
Kevin Ambler is an American attorney,based in Tampa,Florida. He is currently the senior partner at The Ambler Law Group.
Dixon Alan Hays is a politician who was elected Supervisor of Elections for Lake County,Florida,in 2016. He previously was a member of the Florida State Senate from 2010 to 2016 and a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2004 to 2010. He is a Republican.
Charles S. Dean Sr. is a Republican politician who served as a member of the Florida Senate,representing the 5th District,which includes Baker,Citrus,Columbia,Dixie,Gilchrist,Lafayette,Levy,western Marion,Suwannee,and Union Counties in North Florida,from 2012 to 2016,previously representing the 3rd District from 2007 to 2012. Before winning election to the Senate,Dean served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives,representing the 43rd District from 2002 to 2007.
Dennis K. Kruse is an American businessman and politician. Kruse was a founder of the auction business Kruse International before entered politics as a Republican. He was a member of the Indiana House of Representatives from 1989 to 2004 and the Indiana Senate from 2004 to 2022,representing Senate District 14.
Frank Artiles is a Cuban-American Republican politician from Florida. He served three terms in the Florida House of Representatives,representing parts of Miami-Dade County from 2010 to 2016,before being elected to the Florida Senate in 2016. He resigned from the Senate on April 21,2017,after using racial slurs and other profanities against fellow senators.
Jeffrey P. Brandes is an American politician who served as the Florida State Senator from the 24th district from 2016 to 2022. A member of the Republican Party,he has been elected from the Pinellas County area to the Florida Senate since 2012,representing the 22nd district from 2012 to 2016. Brandes previously served as the Florida State Representative for the 52nd district from 2010 to 2012.
Randolph Bracy III is an American politician who was a member of the Florida Senate from the 11th district. Bracy's district included parts of central and northwest Orange County. Bracy was the first African American to serve as Chair of the Criminal Justice Committee. As a member of the State Senate,Bracy pushed for the establishment of Juneteenth as a state holiday.
Travis Hutson is a Republican member of the Florida Senate,representing the 7th district,which includes Flagler,St. Johns,and northern Volusia County,since 2016. He previously represented the 6th district from 2015 to 2016. Hutson also served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2012 until he was elected to the Senate.
Blaise Ingoglia is an American politician who currently serves as a member of the Florida Senate,representing the 11th district,since 2022. A member of the Republican Party,he previously served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2014 to 2022 in the 35th district,as well as chairman of the Republican Party of Florida from 2015 to 2019.
Carlos Guillermo Smith is an American community activist,lobbyist,and Democratic politician. He is a member of the Florida Senate from the 17th district since 2024,covering much of Orange County east of I-4,having been elected without opposition upon the qualifying deadline on June 14th. He previously served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from District 49,situated in northeastern Orange County from 2016 through 2022,which covered the University of Central Florida area,Alafaya,Goldenrod,Union Park,Rio Pinar,and Waterford Lakes.
Venden "Vince" Leach is an American politician from Arizona. A Republican,he was a member of the Arizona State Senate from 2019 to 2023,representing District 11. From 2015 to 2019,he was a member of the Arizona House of Representatives representing District 11. Leach won the race for Arizona state senate from Legislative District 17 in the 2024 Arizona Senate election.
Joe Gruters was the Chairman of the Florida Republican Party from 2018 to 2022,and is a member of the Florida Senate representing the 22nd District,which consists of Sarasota County and part of Charlotte County. He was previously a member of the Florida House of Representatives. Earlier in his career,Gruters worked on the campaign of U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan as campaign manager and was vice chairman of the Republican Party of Florida and chairman of the Republican Party of Sarasota.
Anna Vishkaee Eskamani is an American politician who is a member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 42nd district in Orange County,which covers parts of Orlando along with Maitland,Winter Park,Eatonville,Edgewood,and Belle Isle. She is the first Iranian American elected to any public office in Florida.
Randy Fine is an American Republican politician,activist,and former gambling industry executive currently serving in the Florida Senate for the 19th district since 2024. He previously served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2016–2024. His district covers southern Brevard County.
Mike Beltran is an American politician in the state of Florida. He is a Republican member of the Florida House of Representatives representing the state's 70th district,which includes part of Hillsborough County.
Senate Bill 86,also titled SB 86:Student Financial Aid or An act relating to student financial aid was a proposed 2021 Florida educational funding bill that would have made major changes to the implementation and administration of the Bright Futures Scholarship Program. The bill drew considerable controversy due to its proposals.
Joe Harding is an American politician and businessman who was a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2020 until his resignation in 2022. A member of the Republican Party,Harding is most well known for introducing the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act,commonly known by opponents as the "Don't Say Gay" act.
The 2022 elections for the Florida State Senate took place on Tuesday,November 8,2022,to elect state senators from all 40 districts. Although on ordinary years,20 senators are elected at a time on a staggered basis,races following redistricting elect all 40 members to ensure that each member represents an equal number of constituents. The Republican Party expanded their Senate majority from 24 to 28,gaining a supermajority in the Senate. The concurrently held House elections also resulted in a supermajority,giving Republicans supermajority control of the legislature.
The Parental Rights in Education Act,commonly referred to as the Don't Say Gay law,is a Florida statute passed in 2022 that regulates public schools in Florida. The law is most notable for prohibiting public schools from having "classroom discussion" or giving "classroom instruction" about sexual orientation or gender identity from kindergarten through 3rd grade or in a manner deemed to be against state standards in all grades. It also requires that schools disclose to parents if their children have received mental health services via the school.
