Sen. Simon, Rep. Tant preach bipartisan success at business group luncheon

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - The 2023 Florida legislative session is history, but lawmakers are still unpacking all that was passed during a busy two-month stretch.

On Tuesday, two members of the Leon County delegation spoke at the monthly luncheon of the Network of Entrepreneurs and Business Advocates, a local business group.

Freshman Senator Corey Simon, a Republican, and Representative Allison Tant, a Democrat, both spoke fondly of their working relationship at the Capitol.

The discussion focused on mostly business issues, ranging from tax holidays, to workforce housing, to efforts to supercharge funding for affordable housing in the area.

Sen. Simon, who became the first Republican state senator to represent Tallahassee in at least a century, said he believes he fulfilled the promises made during his campaign.

”It’s a purple district, it’s important I’m able to have communication with my democratic colleagues, as I talked about in there,” he said. “We can have disagreements without being disagreeable.”

Rep. Tant said she finds it rewarding to work with the other members of her delegation, even those across the aisle.

“[We had] continuous communication throughout this session from the beginning to the very last day on the issues we were concerned about. I think it was a very fruitful session for North Florida,” she said.

The duo teamed up to pass a bill that lets parents of students with disabilities stay more involved in their child’s education for longer. The Governor signed the bill earlier in May.

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