Florida's new legislative leadership shot down speculation of a special session to address an affordability crisis among condo owners, despite urging from Gov. Ron DeSantis for one to be convened by the end of the year.

The crisis was largely sparked by a series of changes OK'd by the state after the deadly June 2021 collapse of the Champlain Towers South, a 12-story condo in Surfside, Miami-Dade County.

 

"We agree with the governor's sense of urgency," said Sen. Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, who was elected Senate president on Tuesday. "We agree we need to look very closely at this. It is a complex issue."

But Albritton said lawmakers would work on it during the regular session, which begins March 4.

Rep. Daniel Perez, R-Miami, who was voted in as House speaker, said something similar.

"The question shouldn't be when. The question should be what," Perez said. "When people call for a special session, they're very quick to pull the trigger on saying 'special session,' but we should think about what is the topic and the solutions that we're trying to solve for...."

He said lawmakers would begin having that conversation during the committee weeks leading up to the regular session.

Condo issues still loom large in Florida

Lawmakers passed a series of reforms following the Champlain Towers South collapse, which killed 98 people. Those changes included new safety standards and requirements for condo associations to hold cash for maintenance projects.

The requirements have a deadline of the end of the year, which led condo associations to impose special assessments and hike monthly fees. The increases were so large in some cases that thousands of condo owners throughout the state have decided to sell their units.

Sen. Jason Pizzo, the new Senate Democratic leader, said Tuesday that he and Sen. Jennifer Bradley, R-Green Cove Springs, will be holding "a very large summit on condos" in Davie on Dec. 3. He said it would be officially announced in a couple days.

"Everybody's going to get into the room. We're going to hash it out with peer review and be able to move forward," said Pizzo, of Sunny Isles Beach.

In the meantime — and despite the deadline — Pizzo said, "I think anyone acting in good faith and working toward being compliant with the letter of the law is going to be fine."