Sen. Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, was formally designated last week to become Senate president for a two-year term that will start after the 2026 elections. Boyd served in the House from 2010 to 2018 before getting elected in 2020 to the Senate, where he serves as majority leader. As Senate president, Boyd, 68, will hold one of the most-powerful positions in Florida. Boyd, who heads Boyd Insurance & Investments, will succeed President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula.
ALSO READ: Republicans choose Bradenton's Jim Boyd to be next Senate president
The News Service has five questions for Jim Boyd, with questions and responses edited for length and clarity.
Q: It was mentioned during the designation ceremony that you're professional, serious and even light-hearted. How do you anticipate your managerial style will compare to the past couple of presidents?
BOYD: I view myself as a servant leader, and in that, I mean, you know, the people around me are what really matter in my team. And if I can help them accomplish their goals and get what is important to them done, then I view my leadership as successful. So of course, I'll have some things as we move toward that time that I'll be interested in. But I care more about the team and the success of the team than I do my personal ambitions. … I think President Albritton is very much a servant leader. He cares about people. He cares about their needs. He cares about what's important to them. He cares about their families. So, yeah, I hope I can kind of emulate that as I move forward. And that's been, in my business life, that's kind of been my style, and hopefully in my political life, it's kind of bled over to demonstrate as my style as well.
Q: You mentioned that property-insurance reform is working. Are there things in insurance, not just property insurance, but health care, personal-injury protection auto insurance, that you're going to tackle in the coming two or three years?
BOYD: That's something I think will develop, if it does, over time. I really do believe what we've done in PIP (auto insurance) reform, back when I was in the House, property-insurance reform in December of 2022, I think it's working, and I don't think they're the problems that we had. Now, will things develop and issues we need to tackle? I'm sure there probably will (be). But right now, the status quo is starting to produce results, and I think that's a path I'd like to stay on. Again, if there's things we need to tweak or think about as we move forward, we will, but I think that's a little ways out.
Q: A state appeals court seemed to settle the issue of allowing open carry of firearms. Where do you stand on lowering the age to buy guns, especially long guns, from 21 to 18?
BOYD: I believe we all, you know, respect and will abide by the opinion of the court, as we should. In terms of, are there tweaks? Are there changes that need to be made?
I think those are going to be conversations we're going to have this session in committees and the like. I know law enforcement is being consulted with and weighing in on what we should and shouldn't do.
So, those are all issues I think we're going to be talking about here in the upcoming weeks and months. And then, you know, with respect to the open-carry component, what does that mean? What does it mean in public places? What does it mean in government buildings? You know, those kinds of things.
So, speaking with our leadership and listening to our leader, I believe those are conversations that are underway now and certainly will be developed in the committee process. And if there's things we need to do, I think we'll tackle them as a Senate. I would assume the House would as well. And you know, of course, we'll listen to what the governor has to say, and hopefully he'll agree with us when we make decisions.
Q: You don't have a personal view on lowering the gun-buying age?
BOYD: I voted for the Parkland bill when that happened (a bill passed after the 2017 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that included raising the age to buy long guns from 18 to 21).
It was a horrible tragedy. I just can't imagine just the gravity of that and how horrible and dramatic and sad it was for those families involved. So, with all due respect to that, I did vote for the bill.
I am not an opponent of lowering the long-gun age back to 18. I'm not making that decision.
I'll have a voice in committee if it comes to one of my committees. And that's just Jim Boyd's opinion. That's not a Senate position or leadership position.”
Q: You're hosting dinner and can invite three guests, live or dead, who do you invite?
BOYD: First, I guarantee I would invite George W. Bush. I'm a big fan of his. I just admire him and his leadership and the way he handled our country and the world under his presidency. So he'd be one.
Probably Ronald Reagan, not to just pick political figures, but he's a guy that I watched as a younger man develop into the leader he was and the great communicator and the way he handled people and responded to people, I think was just something we could all learn from.
And probably the third would be, this will sound really weird perhaps, but David Letterman, I always got a kick out of him when he was hosting the “Late Night” show. And so he'd be somebody that would be fun to interject into that conversation.
