DELAND Getting Florida through the global pandemic is a top goal of lawmakers, but several long-running debates also surfaced Monday at the annual Volusia County Legislative Delegation hearing.
Calls for an internet sales tax were renewed. Vacation-rental regulations were raised. Calls for criminal-justice reform, including a second-look law, were made.
Also, annual requests for funding resurfaced. Mayors, managers and other leaders appealed for specific septic-to-sewer projects, buildings, roads, mental-health programs, affordable housing, school funding and school choice.
One of the more dramatic appeals came from Volusia County Schools interim Superintendent Carmen Balgobin, who said a $32 million funding shortfall will have a devastating impact on our schools and on the economy of Volusia County.