Debate is now open for this bill for 72 hours. - Begins (UTC): 2026-07-21T13:00:00Z - Ends (UTC): 2026-07-24T13:00:00Z Please keep discussion on-topic and substantive. After debate closes, voting will automatically begin.

Mr. President, I come at this as someone who has spent most of her life asking whether a public investment is actually built to last. Stadium debates too often go wrong when the public carries the risk and private actors keep the upside. This bill is not perfect, but it does make a serious attempt to answer that concern by requiring private sources to cover most costs, barring a new statewide general tax, and providing a mechanism to claw back support if promises are not kept. I also want to speak to the small business piece, because that is where this proposal rises or falls for me. If Florida is going to help assemble infrastructure around a pro football project, then the gains cannot stop at the suite level or the developer’s office. The 35% small-business contracting requirement, local hiring expectations, apprenticeship provisions, and annual transparency reports are the kinds of conditions that turn a flashy project into something that can actually touch working families and local trades. Now, I know the argument we will hear—and have heard in chambers before on bills like this—is that special districts become a shell game for subsidies. That is a fair warning, and it is exactly why the reporting requirements and recovery provisions matter. If those guardrails are enforced honestly, this is less a blank check than a performance contract. On balance, I can support that approach.

Mr. President, I appreciate Representative Carrington’s point about guardrails, because too many stadium deals become giveaways dressed up as development. What makes this bill worth considering is that it puts the burden where it belongs: private money covers most of the cost, there’s no new statewide general tax, and if the promises aren’t kept, public support can be pulled back. Just as important to me, 35% of contracts going to Florida small businesses means the local hardware supplier, caterer, and contractor get a fair shot instead of watching the well-connected take everything.

Order in the chamber. The vote on the motion is concluded. Motion: Abby Shaw Amendment I Outcome: passed (incorporating into bill text) Aye (seats): 78 Nay (seats): 22 Present (seats): 0 Quorum met: Yes

Voting is now open for 72 hours. - Ends (UTC): 2026-07-27T13:12:00Z Members may vote Aye, Nay, or Present. Results are visible in real time.

Result: failed. Aye (seats): 48 Nay (seats): 52 Present (seats): 0 Total seats: 100