Florida gubernatorial candidate Paul Renner (R) discussed his plan to rollback property taxes, alleviate insurance costs, and energy prices during an exclusive interview with Floridian publisher Javier Manjarres.
"Let's do a rollback. It was done 20 years ago. Roll back to 2024. While we're having the debate, give everybody a tax cut," Renner commented. "Then it's manageable for the local governments while we look at eliminating homestead property taxes or something. If that can't get done, what can be done that's bold?"
Renner indicated Floridians were leaving the state over affordability, particularly because of property taxes and insurance. How does he plan to fix that if he's elected Florida governor?
Tax cuts.
"My proposal right now, in two days, you can roll back, give everybody a tax cut. Right now, they can roll into their escrow, and we should do that while we're having that longer debate about getting it on the constitutional ballot, getting to 60%," Renner said.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has pledged to put property tax relief on the November 2026 ballot.
In addition, Renner addressed fixing the insurance crisis. The former House Speaker noted working on litigation reform during his time in the speakership to help fix the problem.
Renner was House Speaker under Gov. Ron DeSantis from 2022 to 2024.
"We had insurance accountability. We're going to continue down that path, home, hardening, making sure that we do some regulatory reform that I believe can reduce property insurance by as much as 10% in my first year," Renner said.
He also detailed reducing energy costs, specifically natural gas. Moreover, his plan would reconfigure an agenda for more solar energy laid out by the Biden administration in an effort to combat climate change.
"We're going to reduce electric bills, and make sure that we're resetting the push toward all in on renewables," Renner said, not discounting the option of solar power.
Renner emphasized that Floridians should not be paying the difference for solar energy over natural gas. He also stressed the country should not be reliant on solar panels from China, referring to issues with renewable energy recently in Texas due to the extreme cold weather.
"I want to look at a reset on that and get away from that overdependence on things that are not the low-cost energy. They are not domestically sourced," Renner said. "We cannot be dependent on China for solar panels and batteries."
"We saw what happened in Texas, where people froze to death because they were too dependent on renewable energy," Renner continued. "We're the Sunshine State. But guess what? The sun doesn't shine 24 hours a day, so you'd better have energy that is on demand when you need it, and is low cost, domestically sourced, and reliable."
Renner, a Navy veteran, is competing against U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, and businessman James Fishback for the Republican nomination. He recently discussed the importance of his military service to The Floridian in a recent interview.
The Republican primary is Aug. 18.
