In the race for Florida governor, the fate of two sprawl-inducing state laws hangs in the balance

Florida in Five: Five stories to read from the past week in Florida politics.

Image credit: News 4 Jax

This is Seeking Rents, a newsletter and podcast devoted to producing independent journalism about Florida politics, with an emphasis on the ways that big businesses and other special interests influence public policy in the state. Seeking Rents is produced by veteran investigative journalist Jason Garcia, and it is free to all. But you can support my work by becoming a paid subscriber and/or by making a one-time donation.

Welcome to another installment of Florida in Five: Five* stories you need to read from the past week in Florida politics.

St. Johns County is fighting back against Florida’s new “agricultural enclaves” law — an edict out of Tallahassee, pushed by lobbyists for developers, that makes it harder for local communities to slow suburban sprawl.

County commissioners in St. Johns recently rejected an application submitted under the new law that would have enabled construction of thousands of new homes on a seven-square-mile tract of timberlands southeast of Jacksonville. The surprise denial has set off a likely legal fight with the property’s high-profile developers: The ultra-wealthy Davis family, which founded the Winn-Dixie grocery chain and developed the community of Nocatee, and The PARC Group, their longtime land-development partner.

It also previews a coming battle in the Florida Capitol, where local leaders say they will push Florida’s Republican-controlled Legislature to repeal or rework the agricultural enclaves law, which is known as Senate Bill 686 and which passed earlier this year by votes of 90-20 in the state House and 34-2 in the state Senate. Local legislators who supported the bill are now facing sharp criticism for their votes.

But the development lobby is already getting ahead of the legislative fight.

On Sept. 15 — the very same day that St. Johns County commissioners denied the Davis family and PARC Group agricultural enclave application — records show the development partners donated a combined $200,000 to Byron Donalds, the Republican nominee for governor. The gifts to the Friends of Byron Donalds PAC included $100,000 each from DDI Inc., a corporate entity for the Davis family office, and The PARC Group itself.

That’s not all. Donalds deposited another $250,000 that same day from The Hutson Companies, another big builder in St. Johns County that is also using the agricultural enclaves law.

The Friends of Byron Donalds PAC also received big gifts on Sept. 15 from homebuilding companies led by University of Florida Board Chair Mori Hosseini ($500,000 from MHK of Volusia County) and Tampa Bay Rays owner Patrick Zalupski ($50,000 from Dream Finders Homes)

It’s not the first time they have opened their bank accounts for Byron Donalds, either. Records show that another Davis company, called Big Creek Timber LLC, and the Hutson Companies each donated $100,000 apiece to Donalds earlier this year.

That’s a combined $650,000 from the three developers. None have donated to David Jolly, the Democratic nominee for governor.

These particular campaign contributions are important because any effort to eliminate or modify the agricultural enclaves law will have to go through Florida’s next governor, who can sign or veto any bill passed by the Legislature. Gov. Ron DeSantis, for instance, could have single-handedly stopped Senate Bill 686 from taking effect. But Florida’s outgoing governor chose instead to quietly sign it into law.

Would you like to support Seeking Rents without becoming a subscriber?

Already a paid subscriber but want to do more to help sustain my work?

Click below to make a one-time donation.

It’s not the only controversial development law potentially hanging in the balance of this year’s governor’s race.

So, too, is Senate Bill 180, the deceptive state law ostensibly meant to support hurricane recovery that has been wreaking havoc in communities across Florida for more than two years.

A bill to fix that law came close to passing the Florida Legislature this year but was ultimately blocked by Republican leaders in the state House. Records show that lobbyists representing a pair of influential homebuilders in southwest Florida — Pat Neal of Neal Communities and Carlos Beruff of Medallion home — were secretly trying to stop the legislation.

There will undoubtedly be another attempt to fix Senate Bill 180 during the Legislature’s 2027 session, which will begin about two months after either Donalds or Jolly is sworn in as Florida’s new governor.

Which may make it instructive to know that Neal and Beruff have delivered more than $660,000 combined to Byron Donalds.

*To paraphrase Barbossa, five is more what you’d call a guideline than an actual rule.

‘Uncovered’

State leaders say they fixed Florida’s insurance crisis. A new survey shows homeowners don’t buy it (South Florida Sun Sentinel) ($)

See also: News organizations publish Florida’s secret examination of insurer profits (South Florida Sun Sentinel) ($)

The other Hope Florida scandal

How Hope Florida quietly hollowed out Florida’s safety net (Florida Trib)

See also: Hope Florida led disabled people to dead ends as state misused $10M (Tampa Bay Times) ($)

See also: Governor’s office paid a second law firm $111,000 as Hope Florida grand jury report was fought in secret (Florida Trident)

See also: Annette Taddeo demands probe of taxpayer-funded legal bills for Blaise Ingoglia’s Chief of Staff (Florida Trident)

See also: Florida Chamber president facing renewed scrutiny over Hope Florida scandal (CBS News Miami)

James Uthmeier v. José Javier Rodriguez

José Javier Rodríguez challenges Uthmeier in Florida Attorney General race: ‘Stood up for the little guy’ (TV20)

See also: Disney to host $25K-per-head ‘family’ fundraiser for Uthmeier (Orlando Weekly)

See also: Florida AG letter undercuts Sarasota County in Live Local legal fight (Suncoast Searchlight)

Byron (and Erika) Donalds v. David Jolly

What Erika Donalds in the governor’s mansion could mean for education (Axios Miami)

See also: Byron Donalds strips Trump references from his campaign website (Miami Herald) ($)

See also: Trump, irked by reporting, announces Florida rallies to boost Byron Donalds (Miami Herald) ($)

See also: Donalds might retain Joseph Ladapo as surgeon general — Jolly says he’d fire him (WLRN)

The many consequences of Amendment 3

New Analysis Estimates Amendment 3’s Potential Impact on Florida Renters (Florida Housing Coalition)

See also: ‘Fabric of the community’: Miami-Dade libraries warn against property tax cuts (WLRN)

See also: Watchdogs warn Amendment 3 may cut funding for flood control and drinking water (Florida Trib)

See also: Fla. sheriffs warn of ‘train wreck’ tax-cut plan. Miami-Dade sheriff: Don’t be scared (Miami Herald) ($)

See also: Jacksonville Civic Council comes out against Amendment 3 tax cut (Jacksonville Today)

See also: All 3 Florida amendments on the 2026 ballot, explained (Tampa Bay Times) ($)

And another thing

The rising cost of power in Florida — and the system that allows it (WUSF)

See also: How Florida Ties Localities’ Hands on Everything from Environmental Regulation to Worker Protections (Inside Climate News)

See also: Wakulla County confronts flooding concern — but state law blocks tougher local rules (Fox49)

See also: Once rejected, development plan near OTOW is back again. What changed? (Ocala Star-Banner) ($)

See also: FIU faculty question $400k bonus for president as university tightens spending (Miami Herald) ($)

See also: Super PAC backing Moody has spent nearly $3 million on ads targeting Nixon (Tampa Bay Times) ($)

See also: Trump turns on Salazar after Florida Republican challenges his immigration crackdown (Politico)

See also: Why the world wants American surrogates (BBC Audio | The Global Story)

Perspectives

A Florida climate warrior challenges corrupt political power structure (Florida Trident)

Amendment 3 Property Tax reform – An assault on home rule. Please consider before you vote (Clermont Sun)

Insurers’ excessive profits are secret no more (South Florida Sun Sentinel) ($)

Florida hid insurance industry’s lies — and tried to stop us from revealing them (Orlando Sentinel) ($)