LIVE: Highlights from the Florida Legislature's opening day, DeSantis' State of the State

As state lawmakers return to the Capitol for the annual 60-day legislative session, it's anyone's guess as to what this year's overriding issue will be.

The fight over illegal immigration seems to have resolved in the last special session, though there's more coming on that front. Now, there's sure to be debate over cutting or getting rid of property taxes, lowering the cost of home insurance and allowing guns on college campuses.

The first order of business, after legislative leaders deliver opening remarks to their members, is Gov. Ron DeSantis' State of the State address to lawmakers, setting the tone for the session and providing a strategic vision. Expect him to focus on accomplishments from the past year, emphasizing the state's economic growth and an array of conservative policy wins.

The USA TODAY Network – Florida will share highlights below of the legislative session's opening day, so check back often.

2025 Session: A calm, and then a storm?

Legislators have already held three sessions this year, but there’s still some heavy-hitting legislation that could impose more immigration laws, lower restrictions on guns and cut property and business taxes.

Tuesday the House and Senate will meet at the Florida Capitol again for the regular 60-day legislative session, and although Gov. Ron DeSantis and GOP legislative leaders agreed to a compromise on immigration enforcement measures, it came after a war of words.

Now, a panoply of contentious issues – guns, insurance and taxes, even immigration again, to name a few – could produce more clashes between DeSantis and his fellow Republicans.

Read the rest of the story here.

Lawmakers arrive, businesses thrive: Downtown Tallahassee gears up

The Florida legislative session begins Tuesday, which means the capital soon will be flooded with lawmakers, lobbyists and busloads of out of town activists – all providing an essential boost for Tallahassee's dining businesses.

Ashley Chaney, owner of Hayward House across from the Capitol, refers to the scheduled 60-day convergence as the restaurant's "Super Bowl," prompting her and other businesses to gear up for the influx of customers who will network, cut deals and be seen.

"There's an electricity downtown when the Legislature is in. There's people from all over the state that come to visit Tallahassee to do the state's business," Chaney said.

Read more here.

5 questions as DeSantis, lawmakers find new balance of power

The last time Florida lawmakers gathered for a regular session, Gov. Ron DeSantis was still running for President and dominating the legislative agenda.

Now, as lawmakers prepare to kick off another 60-day regular session Tuesday, Donald Trump is President, having elbowed DeSantis out of the GOP primary, and the governor is fresh off a bitter fight with Republican legislative leaders over stricter immigration enforcement.

That fight ended with the Legislature passing many of DeSantis’ proposals but leaving out several key pieces, such as restrictions on money illegal immigrants send back to their home countries and removing his power to transport the undocumented to other states, such as Massachusetts.

Keep reading here.

This story contains material previously published by USA TODAY and the USA TODAY Network – Florida. Jim Rosica is a member of the USA TODAY Network's Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jrosica@tallahassee.com. Follow him on X: @JimRosicaFL.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Live updates: Florida Legislative session begins with DeSantis speech