GREEN COVE SPRINGS – With the Board of County Commissioners having dispensed of the Shadowlawn Community Development District at its previous meeting, Florida Sen. Jennifer Bradley and Reps. Judson Sapp and Sam Garrison focused on Clay County’s legislative needs during Tuesday’s delegation meeting at the BCC Chamber.

For nearly three hours, the three state legislators who represent all or part of the county heard from 39 city, town and organizational representatives, as well as residents who wanted to ensure their views were recognized ahead of the upcoming session.

Included in the session were Green Cove Springs Mayor Matt Johnson, Keystone Heights Mayor Nina Rodenroth, Orange Park Mayor Randy Johnson, Sheriff Michelle Cook, Clerk of Court Tara Green, Superintendent David Broskie, Clay County BCC Chair Betsy Condon, Clay County School Board Chair Erin Skipper and St. Johns River State College President Joe Pickens.

“It really means a lot to hear back from the community, and it does make a difference for what we're able to do to represent you,” Garrison said, “and thank you to all the community leaders for working with us.”

Garrison will become the Speaker of the Florida House on Thursday, Oct. 9.

“On Thursday is the official designation for Representative Garrison,” Bradley said. “I think it's important. It's sort of the passing of the gavel for the Speaker of the House from Speaker (Daniel) Perez. And then, for once, we get through this session, then Speaker Garrison will lead that (chamber) for two years. It's a really big deal. But more than that, for the state of Florida, it means a lot to know that somebody like Representative Garrison is going to be guiding that chamber. It makes Florida stronger. It will be better for Northeast Florida to have a good friend and a strong leader in the House.”

Garrison accepted the compliment but quickly redirected the focus to the concerns from Clay County leaders and residents, particularly the Florida Department of Transportation’s plan to require drivers on Wells Road at the Orange Park Mall to cross Blanding Boulevard. FDOT wants drivers to turn right onto Blanding, then make a U-turn, return to Wells Road, and make a right turn.

Bradley, Sapp and Garrison have written FDOT to express their concern with the plan, but to no avail.

“The guys back there who have been working with this Wells Road planning situation up there. I can feel the frustration as we sit up here. I hear when talking on the phone, you guys have done yeoman's work in communicating with us and communicating all that,” Garrison said. “I just want you to know that from our standpoint, we hear you. We're not done working on this. We have got to figure out something that doesn't just work for that commercial corridor right there on the corner, but for everybody in that part of the town, excuse me, the county.”

Sapp said he learns something at every public forum because he’s removed from the Tallahassee bubble.

“I've said this many times, some of the most useful information we get is from our constituents and from our leaders in our community, because this is why we do the job,” he said.

Bradley said many of her bills originated from ideas she gathered at legislative delegation meetings.

“You pick up on themes from different groups,” she said. “We had several talks about the ‘Free Kill' Law, and Florida is an absolute outlier on that. We had a lot of people come and share mental health funding and the importance of specialty courts and our veterans’ courts. We had a lot of families whose mental health is a great need. A lot of people are struggling in that regard. The other issue that we heard a lot about was the folks who were taking care of family members with disabilities, APD managed care, not wanting to be forced into managed care, wanting to be able to have the choice to do directed care.”

The 2026 legislative session is scheduled to begin on Jan. 13.