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Get informed: Important issues to be decided in Tallahasee

Florida Legislature Begins Committee Weeks

 

The official start of the Florida legislative session isn't until January 13, 2026. However, Legislative Committees began meeting this month and Senators and Representatives have started filing bills.

 

You can keep track of legislative actions by going to the Senate and House websites. A list of all the bills filed can be found at the link below.  Bills Filed by Legislators for 2026

 

League members have interacted with the following Broward County legislators through one-on-one meetings with legislators or their staff or attendance at town halls: Sen. Barbara Sharief (SD 35), Rep. Christine Hunschofsky (HD 95), Rep. Dan Daley (HD 96), Rep. Chip LaMarca (HD 100), Rep. Michael Gottlieb (HD 102) and Rep. Robin Bartleman (HD 103).

 

There are two Broward County Legislative Delegation Hearings forthcoming, which are open for public comment:  Monday, October 27 at 5 pm at Memorial Regional Hospital Conference Center and Thursday, November 13 at 10 am at Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization Building. For more information and to register to speak, click HERE.

Dental Therapy Legislation
 
The Health Care Committee awaits the filing of Dental Therapy legislation again in 2026. This legislation will include a training program for dental therapists, a new professional oral health position that could make dental care more available in Florida, particularly for those in underserved poverty and rural areas. Florida is 49th in oral health care. Florida has 51 dentists per 100,000 residents. The national average is 60. 
 
Floridians For Dental Access, is a coalition of 515 organizations (including our League and the state League) which support development of this program, which has been adopted in 14 states so far. Like Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants, dental therapists will be trained to deliver routine preventive and restorative dental care and be supervised by a licensed dentist. This is not an individual practice.

 

 

 





Solid Waste & Recycling

 

Our League continues to attend as many meetings as we can of the Solid Waste Authority of Broward County (SWABC) and its various committees and subcommittees. The Master Plan is complete and needs to be approved by the Governing Board and the cities by August 2026, a very tight time schedule.

 

Arguments to support the Master Plan include:

 

  • Broward County is facing an existential threat due to our solid waste crisis.
  • We will need to face some higher costs now to establish the new system but if we don't tackle this now, we face much higher costs in the future. Later there will be little opportunity to reduce costs as the market will have the advantage.
  • We need to look at these efforts as an investment in our future - fiscally, environmentally and for public health.

 

The Broward County Public Schools Green Advisory Committee has had a big impact on sustainability in our public schools. There is a Sustainability Committee working on a green inventory and sustainability plan and their Recycling Committee is working on getting recycling into all our schools. Thanks again to League member Julie Long who is on this committee and was instrumental in getting these policies established.


Environmental Issues Committee meets on Sunday (NOT Monday), Oct. 26 at 7 pm.

Contact Stephanie Pearson for Zoom link.

Date change due to Broward County Legislative Delegation Meeting.

Affordable Housing Update

The Broward Housing Council issued its Annual Report....in early October. TheCounty is seeing continued growth in affordable housing efforts. Several new developments have been approved, adding hundreds of affordable homes for families and seniors. Municipalities are adopting accessory dwelling units and transit-oriented zoning changes to expand housing options. The Live Local Act is yielding results, helping advance projects that were previously difficult under old regulations.

2024 Affordable Housing Advisory Committee (AHAC) reports for Broward County and municipalities are now posted online (scroll to bottom of page). These reports outline local housing strategies to incentivize the production of affordable housing. All local governments in Florida receiving funding from the State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) program are required to submit an annual report to the State.


The Council is hosting an Affordable Housing Workshop onThursday, October 23, 2025 from 8:30 AM -12 PMat the Anne Kolb Nature Center. Register for this FREE event by clickingHERE.


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October 4 Redistricting Day of Action


The League's fight to stop Mid-Decade Redistricting in Florida began on Oct. 4, where we made our call for Fair Districts.

  • Education Forum on Fair Districts vs. Gerrymandering: 22 attendees; 56 views on YouTube
  • Facebook Posts with almost 1,000 views (Sept. 24-Oct. 4)
  • Postcard Writing Party to Florida Legislators: 15 attendees wrote 424 postcards
  • Emails written to Florida Legislators
  • Preparations for Broward Legislative Delegation Meeting on Oct. 27


Our work is not done yet…

This statement was issued by the US League of Women Voters CEO Celina Stewart, which also speaks to the view of the Florida League and the Broward League.

  • The League of Women Voters does not support a tit-for-tat approach to redistricting.
  • State legislatures redrawing their maps mid-cycle reflects political gamesmanship that erodes public trust in our democracy.
  • Redistricting must be fair, transparent, and rooted in the voices of voters — not partisan retaliation. 
  • Manipulating maps for political gain is a disservice to the people.
  • The League stands for maps that reflect communities, not political calculations.
  • Voters deserve stable, fair representation — not to be used as pawns in a power grab. When politicians rewrite the rules mid-game to protect their control, democracy loses.

    As a reminder…

    Florida families expect their elected leaders to focus on the kitchen table issues affecting voters' daily lives, not divert millions in taxpayer dollars to a rushed and unnecessary redistricting process.

    Redrawing congressional districts in the middle of the decade, on partisan grounds, without new Census data, defies the will of the people and undermines the Florida State Constitution.

    The League of Women Voters is ready to fight to ensure fairness for voters, no matter what politicians do for their own gain. We stand ready to protect the voices of all voters because that is what our democracy is built on.

    We urge you to contact the House Special Committee on Congressional Redistricting via email to “Just Say No to Mid-Decade Redistricting.”

Get a  quick lesson on mid-decade redistricting from our Oct. 4 presentation on what it is, why it's happening and what we can do to prevent it

In 2010, over 60% of Florida voters agreed to add Fair District Principles to the Florida Constitution for redistricting purposes. Instead, the Legislature continues with gerrymandering when developing district maps. Learn the history and the League’s fight for Fair Districts!

What can youd do? 

Here are suggested social media posts:
https://lwvbroward.org/docs.ashx?id=1620116

You can email legislators serving on the House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting:
https://lwvbroward.org/docs.ashx?id=1620117





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Upcoming Events
UPCOMING EVENTS



Nov. 8: Documentary on Florida river from award-winning team


The next film in our environmental series is Saturday, November 8 from 3-5:30 pm at Art Serve in Ft. Lauderdale.
 
This is a unique documentary on the need to restore the connectivity of the three rivers, the Silver, Ocklawaha and the St. Johns for the environmental health and recreational benefits as well as the safety of all the people living along the waterway. In January 2023, the South Florida Symphony Orchestra premiered a symphonic poem written by John Gottsch, Ocklawaha: Tales My Father Told.
 
The "tales," based on the composer's childhood memories with his father on the mystical Ocklawaha River, are impressionistically filmed by Emmy winner Mark Emery, and narrated by actor Peter Coyote. The film, which premiered on PBS, is written and produced by Emmy winner Steve Robitaille.