What is David Jolly's plan to lower grocery costs for Florida families?
David Jolly's approach recognizes that the governor's office has limited direct control over grocery prices, which are set in national and global markets, but state leaders can reduce the financial pressure on families through utility cost relief, targeted property tax relief, and workforce housing investments that free up household budgets for food and essentials.
What a governor can do
Lower monthly bills
Capping utility profit at the national average would reduce electric and gas bills, freeing up household income for groceries.[1]
Reduce housing costs
A state catastrophic fund to lower homeowner insurance by 60 to 70 percent means hundreds more per month available for food and essentials.
Protect families from predatory fees
Strengthening consumer protection enforcement against price gouging and deceptive pricing practices ensures families pay fair prices at checkout.
The honest answer
Grocery prices are set by national supply chains, global commodity markets, and federal monetary policy. A governor cannot directly control the cost of milk, bread, or produce. No state leader can.
But a governor can reduce the other costs squeezing Florida families so hard that grocery bills become unaffordable. When half of Floridians do not have enough savings to last two weeks, every dollar counts. When working families are paying more for housing, utilities, and insurance than ever before, the grocery bill is the place where the budget breaks.
This is the affordability crisis. It is not one bill. It is the stack of bills. And it is crushing people.
The bills that matter
Florida utility rates are higher than the national average because the state allows investor-backed utilities to receive profit greater than the national average.[1] Florida Power & Light, the state's largest utility, is authorized to earn a 10.95 percent return on equity, among the highest in the country.[1] David Jolly's plan is to cap that profit at the national average. Still a reasonable return for utilities. Still room for grid investment. But fairness for ratepayers.
Homeowners insurance in Florida is the most expensive in the country, with average annual premiums ranging from roughly $5,400 to over $14,000 depending on coverage level and location.[2] Renters pay those costs too, folded into rent. David Jolly's state catastrophic fund would remove hurricane and wind coverage from the private market and reduce homeowner insurance costs by 60 to 70 percent. That is hundreds of dollars per month returned to family budgets.
Property taxes in Florida are too high for too many people, especially for new homebuyers and renters whose landlords pass tax increases through. David Jolly has proposed targeted relief: a scaled homestead exemption up to $250,000 for first-time homebuyers, additional exemptions for seniors and first responders, and a three-year pause on increases in property taxes while the state addresses the broader economic crisis.
Add it up. Lower utility bills. Lower insurance costs. Targeted property tax relief. That is the path to making grocery costs affordable again. Not by controlling the price of eggs. By reducing the pressure everywhere else.
Workforce housing matters too
Florida is among the states with the most acute rent-affordability crisis, with more than half of renters paying over 30 percent of income on housing.[3] When rent takes that much, there is nothing left for groceries. David Jolly's plan is to scale up workforce and affordable housing using public-private partnerships that have proven successful from Miami to Pensacola, with units available based on income, trade, or proximity to work.
The rental housing market in Florida is now out of reach, with some families jumping rents month to month, not knowing where they will find a roof over their children's heads. Workforce housing is not a housing issue. It is a grocery issue. It is a childcare issue. It is an everything issue. Because when housing costs consume your paycheck, nothing else is affordable.
Protecting families at checkout
Florida's consumer protection laws against price gouging during emergencies need stronger enforcement. Deceptive pricing practices, shrinkflation, and predatory fees hurt families at the register. A governor cannot set the price of groceries, but a governor can ensure that families are not taken advantage of when they are most vulnerable.
David Jolly believes in fair markets. Markets work when they are transparent and when bad actors are held accountable. Strengthening the state's consumer protection enforcement is part of the broader affordability fight.
Why this approach
Some politicians promise to lower grocery prices directly. That is not honest. Grocery prices are set by forces a governor cannot control. But a governor can choose to fight for families by reducing the costs that are within reach: utilities, insurance, housing, property taxes.
Lead with your heart because it is the right thing. Lead with your head because it makes good economic sense. The people of Florida deserve leaders who tell the truth about what is possible and then fight for every dollar of relief within their power to deliver.
David Jolly's affordability plan is built on that principle. Address the costs the state can control. Free up household budgets. Let families breathe again. That is how you make groceries affordable. Not by pretending a governor can set prices, but by reducing the financial pressure squeezing families from every other direction.
Frequently asked questions
Q. Can a governor really control grocery prices?
No. Grocery prices are set by national supply chains, global commodity markets, and federal monetary policy. A state governor has no direct authority to set the price of milk, bread, or produce. Anyone who promises otherwise is not being honest. What a governor can do is reduce the other costs squeezing family budgets so hard that grocery bills become unaffordable: utility bills, homeowner insurance, property taxes, and rent. That is where state leadership can make a real difference.
Q. How does lowering utility bills help with groceries?
Utility bills are part of the housing-affordability stack. For most Florida households, electricity, water, and gas bills are the next-largest fixed monthly cost after rent or mortgage. Florida Power & Light's authorized 10.95 percent return on equity is among the highest in the country.[1] Capping utility profit at the national average would reduce monthly bills, freeing up household income for food and other essentials. When families are living paycheck to paycheck, every dollar saved on utilities is a dollar available for groceries.
Q. What about price gouging?
Florida has consumer protection laws against price gouging during declared emergencies, but enforcement needs to be stronger. Deceptive pricing practices, shrinkflation, and predatory fees hurt families at the register. A governor cannot control the baseline price of groceries, but a governor can ensure that families are not taken advantage of during crises through aggressive enforcement of existing consumer protection statutes and by closing loopholes that allow bad actors to exploit emergencies.
Q. Why does housing cost matter for grocery affordability?
Florida is among the states with the most acute rent-affordability crisis, with more than half of renters paying over 30 percent of income on housing.[3] When rent or mortgage takes that much of a paycheck, there is nothing left for groceries. The median single-family home price in Florida was $420,000 at the end of 2024, above the national median.[4] Homeowners insurance is the most expensive in the country.[2] Reducing housing costs through a state catastrophic insurance fund and scaling workforce housing frees up hundreds of dollars per month in family budgets.
Q. What is the state catastrophic fund?
The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund has existed since 1993 as a state-run reinsurance pool backstopping private insurers. David Jolly's plan would expand it to absorb hurricane and wind coverage directly out of the private market, reducing homeowner insurance costs by 60 to 70 percent. The fund had a $7.12 billion balance as of December 31, 2024.[5] This is not a new concept. It is scaling up a proven Florida tool to deliver relief for homeowners and renters whose insurance costs have become unaffordable.
Q. How does this help renters?
Renters pay for homeowner insurance and property taxes indirectly through rent. When a landlord's insurance costs triple, rents go up. When property taxes spike on non-homestead rental properties (subject to a 10 percent annual cap instead of the 3 percent homestead cap), rents go up. Reducing those costs for property owners translates to relief for renters. Separately, David Jolly's plan to scale workforce and affordable housing would directly increase rental supply, which puts downward pressure on rents.
Q. What about families who cannot save anything?
About 59 percent of Americans cannot cover a $1,000 emergency expense from savings.[6] In Florida, where homeowners insurance deductibles commonly run $2,500 to $5,000 with separate hurricane deductibles of 2 to 10 percent of insured value, this savings gap means millions of Florida households cannot self-insure even routine repair costs. When families have no financial cushion, every unexpected expense becomes a crisis. Reducing fixed monthly costs through utility, insurance, and housing relief gives families room to build savings and absorb shocks without falling behind on groceries or other essentials.
Q. What if I am a hospitality worker in Tampa or Orlando?
Tampa, Orlando, and other tourism-driven Florida metros have an especially acute workforce-housing problem because hospitality, food service, and lodging jobs pay below what local rents now require. David Jolly's plan specifically calls for scaling workforce housing based on income, trade, and proximity to work, a deliberate signal that the housing build should be sited near tourism corridors, not just generic affordable housing scattered across exurban areas. The utility profit cap would also lower monthly bills, and the proximity-to-work framing should reduce commute costs.
Sources
- Central Florida Public Media, https://www.cfpublic.org/politics/2025-11-20/psc-oks-fpl-deal-that-increases-base-rate-in-parts-of-florida · 2025-11-20
- Insurance Information Institute, https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-homeowners-and-renters-insurance · 2025-01-01
- Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/son-2025-renter-cost-burden-map · 2025-06-01
- Florida Realtors, https://www.floridarealtors.org/newsroom/flas-2024-housing-market-new-listings-active-inventory-prices-stabilizing · 2025-01-23
- Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, https://fhcf.sbafla.com/media/kfuhfqjv/2024-sba-catf-annual-report-final.pdf · 2024-12-31
- Bankrate, https://www.bankrate.com/banking/savings/emergency-savings-report/ · 2025-01-01
Groceries should not break the budget
But right now, for too many Florida families, they do. Have a question for David? Visit the Town Hall and ask.