A wide-ranging proposal dubbed the "rural renaissance bill" is back in the Florida Senate. It has already passed one committee and is ready to be heard by the full chamber.
The bill would boost funding for health care, education, and economic development in rural counties. The same proposal didn't make it all the way through the legislature last year, so Sen. Corey Simon, R-Tallahassee, is trying again.
"The challenges of rural Florida did not go away and neither did our commitment to address them," Simon recently told members of the Senate Appropriations Committee. "Today, for the 2026 legislative session occurring during America's 250 anniversary, I'm presenting Senate bill 250."
Simon's sprawling north Florida district contains 13 counties. It includes the state capital, but it's largely rural in nature. He says he is sponsoring the bill again because his constituents need it.
"As someone who represents just over 30% of the rural counties in the state, I have seen firsthand sitting down and talking with many of them after last session, some disheartened, but I encouraged them that the process doesn't stop after one session," Simon said. "We still get another chance to come back and take another bite at the apple, and we'd work extremely hard to try to get this thing across the finish line."
The bill would provide $25 million for a program to lure physicians and other health care providers to set up practices in rural communities. It would help hospitals in these areas with increased Medicaid reimbursements.
Also, rural teachers would receive student-loan payment assistance, and extra money would go toward state housing initiatives as well as road building and improvements in rural counties.
Simon says the bill would also create a new office within the Florida Department of Commerce.
"It is apparent that the needs are great, but often times where the struggle is – is with the administrative help," Simon said. "That's why I'm so excited about the Office of Rural Prosperity. It will be a tremendous help to my communities."
The staff of this new office would assist rural local governments in accessing state and federal resources, including grants.
Simon calls this bill a game changer.
"It's imperative that we continue to work extremely hard to get projects like this. These are the ones that we can all come together. There is no fight (about) what the needs are in our rural communities. If you just take a drive with me through any of my counties, you can see the need. It's glaring," Simon said. "Of every bill that I've gotten a chance to read through over the course of my last four years here, this is the one that I think can make the greatest impact for the people that I serve."
The rural renaissance bill unanimously passed the Senate Appropriations Committee. A couple of days prior, Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Bartow, told reporters the bill will be taken up by the full Senate in the first week of the legislative session in January.
"We're gonna go back at it again. The entire idea of supporting rural Florida is worth the conversation, and my hope is obviously that it gets passed this year," Albritton said. "But look, I'd love to see the legislature have a conversation about rural Florida and how rural Florida's doing every year."
Albritton's district is in a rural area of Central Florida. He and Simon say the legislation will offer opportunities and enable rural families to thrive in their communities.
Information from News Service of Florida was used in this report.
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