As Governor: A Different Basket of Solutions for Housing Affordability
Key moments
"We need to scale up investments in workforce and affordable housing, where units become more available to people based on their income, their trade or their proximity to work."
"As governor, I'm going to fight for a state catastrophic fund to remove hurricane coverage from the private market, creating a savings of 60 to 70% for homeowners."
"These solutions are within reach right now. Our current governor and legislature are just ideologically opposed to them."
Context
For too many people, Florida is no longer affordable. This video lays out David Jolly's housing plan: more rental and workforce units, a state catastrophic fund to take hurricane coverage out of the private market, and a cap on investor-backed utility profit.
What's said
This isn't a slogan. It's a basket of solutions, and Jolly argues every one of them is within reach right now. Watch the full video above, or jump to the catastrophic fund for the 60 to 70% homeowner savings he describes.
Transcript
Verified transcript of the video above.
Related questions
How would a state catastrophic fund work?
A state catastrophic fund would separate hurricane coverage from your regular homeowners insurance. Today, every private Florida insurer prices hurricane risk into every policy, which is the main reason premiums are so high. The state would absorb the hurricane portion of the risk into an expanded version of the existing Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, which had a $7.12 billion balance as of December 2024 and is statutorily authorized to cover up to $17 billion in losses[1]. The projected 60 to 70% savings comes from removing the hurricane risk premium from private policies. See the video at 0:28 for Jolly's full take.
What if I am a renter in Florida?
Florida is among the states with the most acute rent-affordability crisis per the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, with more than half of renters now cost-burdened, paying over 30% of income on housing[2]. Jolly's plan would scale workforce and affordable housing units, target funding at proximity-to-work locations, and cap utility profit to lower the monthly bills renters pay on top of rent. See the video at 0:03 for the renter-focused piece of the plan.
Why does Jolly target utilities in his housing plan?
Because utility bills are part of the housing-affordability stack. Florida Power & Light's authorized 10.95% return on equity is among the highest in the country, topping the 10.5% authorized for Tampa Electric[3]. Bringing it to the national average of roughly 9 to 10% does not crush utility investment. It just stops the outlier markup. See the video at 0:50 for Jolly's framing.
Why are condo fees in Florida going up so much?
Florida Senate Bill 4-D, signed in May 2022 after the Surfside Champlain Towers collapse, requires milestone structural inspections for all condo buildings three stories or taller and full funding of structural reserves starting January 1, 2025[4]. Resulting special assessments are commonly $5,000 to $150,000 per unit, and monthly dues are up sharply across coastal condos. Jolly's broader housing plan would create a no-interest state-backed loan program to help condo owners absorb these costs.
Sources
- Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, Annual Report, https://fhcf.sbafla.com/media/kfuhfqjv/2024-sba-catf-annual-report-final.pdf · 2024-12-31
- Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies , https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/son-2025-renter-cost-burden-map · 2025-06-01
- Central Florida Public Media, FL PSC approves FPL rate settlement , https://www.cfpublic.org/politics/2025-11-20/psc-oks-fpl-deal-that-increases-base-rate-in-parts-of-florida · 2025-11-20
- Florida Senate, SB 4-D (2022 Special Session) , https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2022D/4D · 2022-05-26
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