Florida News That Impacts You – June 2nd, 2023
Bottom Line: Your daily recap of the biggest news from around the state that impacts you in South Florida.
- Tropical depression two, which formed yesterday in the Gulf, is now expected to remain a depression as it makes its way south towards western Cuba this weekend where it’s expected to dissipate. The system is expected to continue to bring heavy rainfall to South Florida over the next couple of days.
- Based on renewal data from the first five months of the year, Florida’s property insurance rates, which were already the highest in the nation, are now averaging $6,000 for the 2023-2024 cycle. A figure that’s now 353% higher than the national average. The Insurance Information Institute echoed sentiment shared by Governor DeSantis and Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis, that it will take years for the recently passed reforms in the property insurance market to take hold. In addition to last year’s record setting hurricane season in Florida for claims, the Institute cited hundreds of thousands of lawsuits filed prior to reforms as a key catalyst for higher costs in the near term.
- Trulieve, Florida’s largest marijuana operator, said their ballot initiative attempting to place recreational marijuana legalization on next year’s ballot has collected enough verified signatures to advance to the next step of the process for ballot inclusion – which is a review by Florida’s Supreme Court. 891,523 signatures are needed for citizen led measures for the 2024 cycle. Trulieve said they now have greater than 965,000.
- Gas prices fell a penny yesterday. Statewide the average price for regular unleaded is $3.39 per gallon – two cents higher than a week ago. In Palm Beach County the average price is $3.58 per gallon, which is the second highest in the state.