Review of Compensation for Legislators and Cabinet Members:
HB 865 directs the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) to study and report on whether Florida’s Legislature should remain part-time, become full-time, or adopt a hybrid model, and whether legislative salaries should be increased. The report must be delivered to the Governor and legislative leaders by December 1, 2025, and must include extensive comparative data on legislative pay, per diem, travel reimbursements, outside-income limits, meeting days, and budgets across other states.
The bill also requires OPPAGA to compare Florida legislative compensation and legislative budgets with those of county commissions, city commissions in the 25 largest cities, and district school boards in Florida. In addition, it asks OPPAGA to examine why certain states, including Alabama, California, Maine, and New York, moved to full-time legislatures and imposed caps on outside income while increasing salaries. A separate section requires a report on whether Cabinet member salaries should be increased after comparing them to similarly populated states. The act would take effect July 1, 2025.
If enacted, HB 865 would not immediately change salaries or legislative structure, but it would create a formal state study process that could support future changes to compensation, outside-income restrictions, and the Legislature’s status as part-time, full-time, or hybrid. It would also broaden the policy record on Cabinet member pay by requiring a comparative salary analysis. The bill would affect OPPAGA’s workload and would likely influence future appropriations, ethics, and governance debates by assembling detailed comparative data on Florida’s elected officials and local governing bodies.
The bill appears to have been framed as an informational and policy-review measure rather than a direct compensation increase, which may make it more palatable than an immediate pay raise. However, its subject matter—legislator pay, full-time versus part-time status, and Cabinet compensation—typically draws scrutiny because it touches on public spending and lawmakers’ own compensation. The bill ultimately died in the Government Operations Subcommittee, suggesting it did not generate enough support to advance, even though no recorded votes or committee transcript are provided here.
The main points of contention are likely to have been whether Florida should study or move toward a full-time or hybrid Legislature, whether legislative salaries should rise, and whether limits on outside income should be considered. Comparing legislative pay to county, city, and school board compensation may also have raised concerns about fairness, optics, and the scope of the study. The Cabinet-member salary review could likewise be controversial because it invites discussion of executive compensation without proposing an immediate policy change.