Adrian Moore
Siesta Key
Free minds and free markets, liberty and responsibility. Fiscally conservative, socially liberal. I am VP @reasonfdn. Pardon any nerd rage you may encounter.
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Articles by Adrian Moore
Stormwaters in Gulf Gate
Have you heard what is happening in Gulf Gate? Sarasota County administrators want to make 1,500 households pay for a stormwater retention facility in their neighborhood. This is a fundamental change from the past, when all county residents paid for countywide benefits. If they can make Gulf Gate residents pay, your neighborhood might be next. In question is the defunct Gulf Gate golf course, a contaminated 49-acre parcel that is ringed by residents’ backyards.
Fiscal red flags in Florida
According to eight objective measures of long-term financial solvency and short-term liquidity, the state of Florida is one of the nation’s fiscal bright spots. Unfortunately, the same measures reveal growing problems in Florida’s largest local governments and school districts. A new Reason Foundation study of audited financial statements finds that Tallahassee triggers zero of eight objective red flags for long-term solvency and short-term liquidity.
Loopholes in Florida laws allow law enforcement to collect excessive fines
Local governments in Florida and across the country collect approximately $8 billion in law enforcement fines and forfeitures annually. In most cases, these revenues account for a vanishingly small portion of government budgets — just 0.38% on average. However, some governments have come to rely on police and the court system to fund basic operations, creating perverse incentives that divert resources away from legitimate public safety priorities.
Is the only way to protect kids online for all of us to give up our data?
Florida is now enforcing its sweeping social media law, the Online Protections for Minors Act (House Bill 3), after the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals stayed a lower-court injunction in November. The law bars children under 14 from holding accounts on some social media platforms and requires parental consent for 14- and 15-year-olds. In response, some sites blocked Florida users entirely rather than comply with a related age-verification requirement.
Florida’s surge in gambling helpline calls isn’t what it seems
Calls to Florida’s gambling helpline have surged 138% since legal sports betting launched in 2023, according to the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling. But before Florida legislators contemplate restrictions that would push bettors back into the arms of offshore sportsbooks, they should ask a basic question: Do rising helpline calls actually mean more Floridians are becoming addicted to gambling? The answer is no.
Don’t panic about sports betting in Florida
Calls to Florida's gambling helpline have surged 138% since legal sports betting launched in 2023, according to the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling. But before Florida legislators contemplate restrictions that would push bettors back into the arms of offshore sportsbooks, they should ask a basic question: Do rising helpline calls actually mean more Floridians are becoming addicted to gambling? The answer is no.
States should prioritize private service providers for the opioid settlement funds
The opioid settlement funds represent one of the largest pools of public funding ever made available to address a single public health crisis. Over the next 15 to 18 years, states and municipalities will receive over $50 billion to address opioid-related harms by expanding addiction treatment, prevention, and recovery services. How can this temporary resource be used to produce durable change, rather than a temporary expansion of state and local programs that collapse when funding ends?
DeSantis has better policy than rhetoric on data centers
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ recent disparaging comments about data centers have left some in the media comparing him to Bernie Sanders, but luckily for Floridians, the similarities aren’t much beyond hot air. While Sanders has called for a moratorium on the building of new hyperscale data centers, DeSantis is backing legislation as part of his AI Bill of Rights that encourages data center development in the state while addressing such public concerns as electricity bills and transparency.
Why restricting institutional investors won’t fix housing affordability Original
Last year, several bills were introduced in Florida to restrict large investors from purchasing single-family homes. These misguided bills, mainly supported by Democrats, failed to gain traction. However, President Donald Trump quickly endorsed their cause and recently issued an executive order instructing his agencies to create policies that discourage institutional and corporate buyers of single-family residences.
Commentary: Don’t fear investment-owned housing
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Last year, several bills were introduced in Florida to restrict large investors from purchasing single-family homes. These misguided bills, mainly supported by Democrats, failed to gain traction. However, President Donald Trump quickly endorsed their cause and recently issued an executive order instructing his agencies to create policies that discourage institutional and corporate buyers of single-family residences.
Gov. DeSantis takes positive policy approach to data centers despite his negative tech rhetoric Original
Gov. DeSantis’s recent disparaging comments about data centers have left some in the media comparing him to Bernie Sanders, but luckily for Floridians, the similarities aren’t much beyond hot air.
Legislature tackles housing affordability again | Your Observer
While the housing market in Florida ebbs and flows, anyone trying to sell a house right now knows we are in an ebb. Overall, cities statewide don’t approve new housing at a rate that keeps up with job and population growth in the formation of new households. As you can see at any city commission meeting, the forces of “not in my backyard” remain a potent opposition to adequate housing supply. Florida faces an ongoing shortage-driven housing crisis.
Will some of us say goodbye to property taxes? | Your Observer
I am an enthusiastic fan of tax cuts. I think it is crucial that government prioritizes its spending and tries to provide necessary services as efficiently as possible. So, I am taking great interest in Gov. Ron DeSantis’s call for a reduction or elimination of property taxes for some Florida residents.
Florida lawmakers need to be aware of long-term pension strategy | Your Observer
Florida has $71.82 billion in debt, making it the 10th most indebted state in the nation. Sarasota County is over $1.5 billion in debt, the city of Sarasota over $412 million, and the Sarasota County School District is $724 million. That’s a lot of debt. The flagship fiscal proposal from Governor DeSantis this year is to ask voters to approve an elimination of property taxes.
Investor-owned housing helps renters
Newsfeeds and social media are full of stories about how institutional investors like BlackRock are buying up housing and fueling the housing crisis. People as politically far apart as former Vice President Kamala Harris and current Vice President J.D. Vance have blamed private equity firms for high housing prices and rents.
New data model addresses Florida's statewide housing supply shortages
Reason Foundation has partnered with the DeVoe L. Moore Center at Florida State University and the Florida Policy Project to develop the new Florida Housing Data Project, an interactive webpage that provides housing data and analysis for the state and each of its counties. The tool enables residents and elected officials to view local-level housing trends, track shortages in single-family and rental units, and determine whether their local market has been in balance, surplus, or deficit over time.
Sarasota County’s housing yields shortages and high prices | Your Observer
A new data website from Reason Founation, Florida Policy Project, and the DeVoe Moore Center and Florida State University shows the details of Sarasota County’s housing crisis, and that of every county in Florida and statewide. The Florida Housing Data Project tracks housing vacancy and occupancy trends, offering a granular view of surpluses and shortages, and examines workable solutions for each county. Sarasota County faces a mounting housing crisis.
Ron DeSantis is dead wrong about AI | Your Observer
This summer, Governor DeSantis has spoken out several times about AI, emphasizing his fears about the negative consequences for society of the use of AI. He has not, however, made any mention of the many beneficial uses of AI, such as in medical research and online search. Crucially, he has clashed with the Trump administration and Congress over whether AI should be regulated by the federal government or by the states.
Some federal land in Florida should be sold | Your Observer
At 640 million acres, over a quarter of America’s total land area, the federal government’s real estate portfolio dwarfs that of private developers and corporations. The U.S. federal government owns more land than France, Spain and Germany combined. When some in Congress recently proposed selling a small amount of federal land to build affordable housing, the idea met fierce bipartisan resistance and was dropped.
Institutional investors are not making housing more expensive
Finger-pointing over the nation’s housing woes has become an annual tradition. Both parties have blamed professional housing providers for the ongoing affordability crisis. In Congress, Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) have introduced legislation to impose tax penalties for institutional investors buying single-family homes or even to force them to sell any single-family homes they have purchased. Several states have followed suit.
Sell some federal land, but housing crisis requires local solutions
At 640 million acres, over a quarter of America’s total land area, the federal government’s real estate portfolio dwarfs that of private developers and corporations. The U.S. federal government owns more land than France, Spain and Germany combined. When some in Congress recently proposed selling a small amount of federal land to build affordable housing, the idea met fierce bipartisan resistance and was dropped.
Opinion: Yes, sell some federal land. But that won’t help much on housing.
At 640 million acres, over a quarter of America’s total land area, the federal government’s real estate portfolio dwarfs that of private developers and corporations. The U.S. federal government owns more land than France, Spain and Germany combined. When some in Congress recently proposed selling a small amount of federal land to build affordable housing, the idea met fierce bipartisan resistance and was dropped.
Housing plan falls short | Your Observer
Recently, the Florida Housing Coalition, along with the Gulf Coast Community Foundation, Barancik Foundation, Patterson Foundation and the Community Foundation of Sarasota released a Sarasota Housing Action Plan diagnosing the county’s housing crisis and recommending some approaches to fixing it. The report provides valuable and much needed data and analysis, and we commend the partners for their foresight and commitment to producing it.
Investors are not the ones hurting the housing market
Understanding the origin of the current housing crisis is the key to solving it. While many policymakers have been busy drafting policies to expand supply and increase funding to affordable housing programs, some believe the real problem lies elsewhere: institutional investors in the market for single-family homes. On the news, social media, and even in legislatures, housing market speculators have been taking the blame for high home prices.
Investors are not hurting the housing market | Your Observer
Understanding the origin of the current housing crisis is the key to solving it. While many policymakers have been busy drafting policies to expand supply and increase funding to affordable housing programs, some believe the real problem lies elsewhere: institutional investors in the market for single-family homes. On the news, on social media, and even in legislatures, housing market speculators have been catching blame for high home prices.
How to boost housing affordability in Sarasota, Florida
As the Sarasota City Commission once again considers how to address the city’s affordable housing crisis by once again focusing on timid measures that subsidize a handful of units that are barely noticeable compared to rising demand, it’s time for some new thinking. The good news is that this is a problem many cities around the country have had great success with a few simple policies.
How to boost affordability | Your Observer
As the Sarasota City Commission once again considers how to address the city’s affordable housing crisis by once again focusing on timid measures that subsidize a handful of units that are barely noticeable compared to rising demand, it’s time for some new thinking. The good news is that this is a problem many cities around the country have had great success with a few simple policies.
Comments to the Federal Trade Commission on digital censorship
On behalf of Reason Foundation, we respectfully submit these comments in response to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) request for comment in the proceeding, Technology Platform Censorship, published February 20th, 2025. Reason Foundation is a national 501(c)(3) public policy research and education organization with expertise across a range of policy areas, including technology and communications policy.
Texas Senate Bill 673 would strengthen property rights, improve housing affordability
A version of the following written comment was submitted to the Texas State House of Representatives Committee on Land and Resource Management on May 1, 2025. We share the same goal as Senators Hughes and West: strengthening property rights and improving housing affordability in Texas. SB673 would do both. Accessory dwelling units (ADUs), often called casitas or granny flats, are small apartments typically added to an existing home on a residential lot.
Comments to the Federal Communications Commission on deregulatory priorities
A version of this public comment was submitted to the Federal Communications Commission on April 11, 2025. On behalf of Reason Foundation, we respectfully submit these comments in response to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) request for comment in the proceeding, In Re: Delete, Delete, Delete, published March 12, 2025.
Let kids be independent | Your Observer
Multiple unpleasant encounters with concerned law enforcement officials over children walking to schools or parks alone or playing in yards unsupervised have some Florida parents calling for improved laws around child neglect. A proposed state law in this year’s legislative session in Tallahassee would do just that. It would allow parents to promote independence in their children without the fear of hysterical helicopter parents or government intervention.
Texas House Bill 24 would strengthen property rights, improve housing affordability
A version of this written comment was submitted to the Texas Committee on Land and Resource Management on March 25, 2025. Texas House Bill 24 would strengthen property rights and improve housing affordability. Exclusionary zoning partitions land by use to avoid incompatible uses next to each other. Some of that is certainly necessary to prevent all manner of clashes and harmful spillovers between neighboring properties. However, zoning also does far more than that.
Best practices for development of a federal artificial intelligence action plan
A version of the following federal comment was submitted in response to the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) National Coordination Office’s (NCO) request for information on the Development of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Plan. We applaud President Trump’s Executive Order (E.O.) 14179, Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence, signed on January 23, 2025.
Florida’s lawsuit against Target: hypocrisy | Your Observer
In February Florida’s attorney general filed a federal lawsuit against the Target Corp. on behalf of the State Board of Administration. The SBA manages the pension system for many government workers in Florida and holds some shares in Target. The lawsuit alleges that Target defrauded investors by not properly disclosing the risk to investors posed by its Pride month activities and products.
Drug deaths rose under former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi
When President Donald Trump nominated former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to be attorney general of the United States, he emphasized Bondi’s track record cracking down on drugs and fentanyl and essentially promised to take that approach nationwide to save many lives.
Deaths rose under Bondi | Your Observer
When President Trump nominated former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to be the nation’s top lawyer, he emphasized her track record cracking down on drugs and fentanyl and essentially promised to take that approach nationwide to save many lives.
Florida shines fiscally | Your Observer
The years since the pandemic recession have been good for state debt and liabilities nationwide, and in particular for Florida. Reason Foundation has created a unique data set by collecting numbers from state- and local-audited financial reports. We recently compared all 50 states’ debt and liabilities for 2020 to 2022, the most recent year for which full data is available.
Price gouging: Much ado about nothing | Your Observer
As Floridians rebuild and recover from Hurricanes Helene and Milton, the issue of price gouging always captivates politicians and the media. Headlines after both storms declare hundreds of incidents reported to state officials in Florida and across the Southeast. Florida law defines price gouging as an “unconscionable” price hike during a declared state of emergency and for what it deems essential goods, including food, water, gasoline and transportation.
Another storm for condos | Your Observer
The tragic collapse of the Champlain Towers South condo in Surfside in June 2021 was a defining moment for Florida. Ninety-eight lives were lost, and the devastation rippled across communities throughout the nation. In the wake of that terrible event, condo owners and condo associations began to examine their practices of building inspections, maintenance work and maintenance reserves.
Florida Amendment 5 would create an annual inflation adjustment for homestead property tax exemptions
Summary Florida exempts a portion of the value of the primary residence of Florida residents from property taxes. Florida Amendment 5 would create an annual adjustment of that exemption according to the Consumer Price Index if the change is positive that year. The homestead exemption does not apply to property taxes that go to schools.
California Proposition 33 would prohibit state limitations on local rent control
Summary California Proposition 33 would remove state laws preventing local governments from adopting rent control policies. Fiscal Impact California Secretary of State Shirley Weber says that the passage of Prop. 33 would result in “a potential reduction in state and local revenues in the high tens of millions of dollars per year over time. Depending on actions by local communities, revenue losses could be less or more.” Proponents’ Arguments Proponents of Prop.
Voters’ guide to 2024 ballot initiatives related to housing
Housing has become a hot topic in this election, with even the presidential candidates weighing in on the housing affordability crisis. Reason Foundation extensively researches housing policy issues such as rent control, growth controls, affordable housing, and zoning. You can see our work on these issues here. California, Florida, and Georgia voters will decide on housing ballot issues ranging from homestead tax exemptions to rent control.
Voters’ guide to 2024 ballot initiatives related to drug policy
Reason Foundation’s work on drug policy has placed special emphasis on research on effective regulation and taxation of legalized drug markets and on evaluating the outcomes of legalization. You can see our work on these issues here. This year, voters in Florida and South Dakota will be choosing whether or not to legalize adult recreational marijuana use. Voters in Massachusetts will decide on legalizing adult access to psychedelics.
Voters’ guide to 2024 statewide ballot initiatives
In the November 2024 elections across the country, voters will decide many important statewide ballot initiatives about potential new state laws and constitutional amendments in their states. Reason Foundation’s policy analysts have created voter guides on many statewide ballot initiatives to help voters make informed decisions.
Voters’ guide to 2024 ballot initiatives related to crime and criminal justice
Reason Foundation conducts research and analysis on various criminal justice issues, including the use of fines and fees in punishment for crimes, sentencing reforms, reducing recidivism, and prison operations. You can see our criminal justice policy work here. Five states have ballot initiatives before voters on criminal justice issues (Arizona, California, Colorado, Missouri, and Nevada).
Voters’ guide to Florida’s statewide ballot questions (2024)
Reason Foundation’s policy analysts have created voter guides on many statewide ballot initiatives to help voters make informed decisions. By Adrian Moore September 24, 2024 The proposed constitutional amendment could make the Board of Regents answer to the legislature not directly to voters. By Geoffrey Lawrence September 24, 2024 Abortion in Florida is currently banned after six weeks of pregnancy, a law which took effect on May 1, 2024.
Voters’ guide to 2024 ballot initiatives related to education
Study finds Arizona, Idaho, Oklahoma, Utah, and West Virginia have the best public school transfer and open enrollment laws. By Jude Schwalbach October 29, 2024
Voters’ guide to 2024 ballot initiatives related to rank-choice voting
Voters in four states will decide whether or not to adopt a rank-choice voting system for some elections. In Alaska, the vote is on a measure to repeal rank-choice voting adopted by voters in a 2020 initiative. Nevada’s initiative also includes adopting open primaries. Rank-choice voting allows voters to put the candidates on the ballot in the order they prefer rather than just picking one. Our guides explain how rank-choice voting works and what has been learned from places that use it.
Voters’ guide to 2024 ballot initiatives related to same-sex marriage
In 2015, the Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that same-sex sex couples have the legal right to marry. This overturned many state-level restrictions on same-sex marriage but didn’t strike such language from state constitutions. This November, voters in three states will decide whether or not to remove defunct restrictions on same-sex marriage from their state constitutions. However, these ballot measures will not affect same-sex marriage rights either way.
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