DeSantis Watch

TALLAHASSEE — As Florida enters the heart of hurricane season and braces for the impacts of a tropical disturbance, Governor Ron DeSantis’ response to the climate crisis this year has been to ban the phrase “climate change” from most state statutes (and some science textbooks), repeal renewable energy goals for the state, and to help corporate polluters by vetoing a bill that would have allowed the Department of Health to shut down beaches with unsafe pollution levels.

While the climate crisis continues to drive up the cost of property insurance for Floridians now paying almost five times the national average for premiums, Governor DeSantis flew across the country this week for a high-dollar fundraiser with wealthy elites as the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation held a public hearing to consider approving another double digit rate hike for Citizens Property Insurance customers across the state.

In order to inform Floridians being priced out of their homes by rising property insurance rates about the root causes of this affordability crisis, DeSantis Watch, a joint accountability project of Progress Florida and Florida Watch, has released a new digital video titled “Storm” which outlines how Governor Ron DeSantis’ failure to confront climate related issues is contributing to driving up costs for working families and seniors.

“From Pensacola to Key West, the impacts of the climate crisis have created a perfect storm for working Floridians and seniors who are being priced out of their homes by the skyrocketing cost of property insurance under Governor Ron DeSantis,” said DeSantis Watch Communications Director Anders Croy. “While Governor DeSantis bans the phrase climate change and bails out his corporate elite donors in the insurance industry with billions of our tax dollars, storms are growing stronger and more frequent, the cost of recovery is rising, and Florida is becoming increasingly unaffordable for Floridians. The people of our state deserve real solutions to this crisis, not more excuses from politicians like Ron DeSantis who are paid off by the same corporate polluters and insurance companies who jack up our rates and fail to deliver on their promises.”

Full Transcript of Video:

Narrator: Here in Florida, the storm has reached our shores.

Reporter: The rising cost of insurance, still taking a big bite out of budgets.

Reporter: Seven in ten Florida homeowners, they are seeing rising premiums.

Narrator: With stronger and more frequent storms from the climate crisis continuing to drive up costs, Floridians are paying almost five times the national average for property insurance.

As working families and seniors are priced out of their homes, what is Governor Ron DeSantis’ solution to the climate crisis?

DeSantis: “Knock on wood, we won’t have a big storm this summer.”

Narrator: While Ron DeSantis bans the phrase “climate change” from state statutes and does the bidding of corporate polluters, costs for Floridians continue to rise.

And the threat from the climate crisis continues to grow.

Now, Florida is facing one of the most active hurricane seasons on record.

As Ron DeSantis denies reality.

Floridians deserve real solutions that will protect our homes, our livelihoods, and our environmental treasures, not more giveaways to the same wealthy corporations that pollute our state and price gouge us on our insurance premiums.

The time to act is now!

Before it’s too late!