The Horace Drew Mansion in Springfield. | The Jaxson
Published on October 6, 2025 at 3:57 pm
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A proposal for the state to help preserve the Horace Drew Mansion in Springfield is one of the first to be filed for the 2026 legislative session.
Republican Rep. Wyman Duggan of Jacksonville, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, is proposing that $350,000 be allocated for the effort.
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The Jacksonville History Center lists the mansion as one of the city’s most endangered historic buildings. The mansion on Third Street in Springfield’s Historic District was built arond 1909 and has bady deteriorated.
Duggan’s request says the state money would rehabilitate a neglected property, ensure historic
preservation, remove a source of blight and criminal activity in the neighborhood and contribute to new economic activity and job creation.
Duggan was one of the first lawmakers to file a proposed budget earmark for a local project as the Legislature returns to the Capitol to prepare for the 2026 legislative session, which will begin Jan. 13.
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Only a handful of proposals have been submitted so far, but that will rapidly increase over the next few months as legislative leaders say another tight budget year lies ahead. The House and Senate on Tuesday will start the first of a series of committee weeks in advance of the session.
About 1,600 of such spending proposals, worth more than $2 billion, made it into a 2025-2026 budget that lawmakers sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis. He vetoed about 600 of the proposals.
As of Monday, six proposals had been filed in the House for the 2026 session, collectively seeking just over $5.5 million.
Besides Duggan:
- Rep. Yvette Benarroch, R-Marco Island, proposed spending $1.92 million for waterway improvements in Marco Island and $93,175 to repair the roof of a house eyed to house veterans in Collier County. “This roof is more than just a structural improvement — it is a literal and symbolic foundation for rebuilding lives,” a form filed by Benarroch said.
- Rep. Patt Maney, R-Shalimar, requested $1 million for water system improvements in Baker and $2 million for such improvements in Laurel Hill. Both communities are in Okaloosa County.
- Rep. David Smith, R-Winter Springs, requested $195,000 to help with expansion plans for a nearly 70-year-old building that houses Oviedo American Legion Memorial Post 243. “The funds will provide sufficient space to support growing membership, families and local veterans to participate in activities and receive benefits provided by the American Legion,” Smith wrote in the funding request.
The House and Senate struggled to reach agreement last spring on spending levels and tax cuts for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, which started July 1. The legislative session was scheduled to end in early May, but lawmakers didn’t finalize a budget until mid-June.
Last month, House Budget Chairman Lawrence McClure, R-Dover, said he expects to try to hold down spending during the upcoming session.
“I intend for the House to dig even deeper this (upcoming) year for efficiencies, find waste and ineffective programs,” McClure said after a Joint Legislative Budget Commission meeting on Sept. 12.
State economists have forecast a $3.8 billion surplus for the 2026-2027 fiscal year if spending goes unchanged from the current fiscal year. But without changes, shortfalls are anticipated of $1.5 billion and $6.6 billion in subsequent years.
“I’m very happy that this year we have a surplus, but I want to make sure that future legislatures aren’t confronted with, you know, a $6 billion reduction conversation,” McClure said.
