State Sen. Keith Perry, R-Gainesville, highlighted his efforts to advance music education and reflected on 14 straight years in the Legislature during a public interview with Mainstreet Daily News on Wednesday. 

Perry served six years in the Florida House before twice winning election to the Florida Senate. He finished his last session in March and will leave the role following the November elections due to term limits.   

Perry spoke at a public interview with Mainstreet members in Gainesville, capping off a series of interviews that included state Rep. Chuck Clemons, R-Newberry, and state Rep. Yvonne Hayes Hinson, D-Gainesville.  

Besides his music initiatives, Perry also discussed his desire to improve Florida’s term limit law and a bill targeting squatters that Gov. Ron DeSantis signed on March 27. 

Perry said he’s had more impact in the past session because of his position on Senate President Kathleen Passidomo’s leadership team.  

“That’s a select group that she picks to be her kind of confidants, and so you have a lot more impact and influence,” Perry said.  

He also chaired the Education Appropriations Committee that manages the second largest budget in the Legislature. 

While in office, Perry spearheaded fundraising efforts for UF’s music building that he said had lagged behind even high school facilities. He pushed $35 million through the Legislature in 2023, and this year’s budget included $20 million for the school. The budget still needs the governor’s approval, and Perry said the music funding, because of the size, could be a target for a veto.  

Perry noted that many students who attend UF for its signature STEM programs have music backgrounds too. He said he sold the appropriations as a boost to UF’s STEM programs while also enhancing the space for music-focused students.  

“If you’re recruiting some of the best engineering students, a majority of them have music in their background,” Perry said. “The best chemistry, the best pre-med—you’re going to find music on a lot of these really smart kids is kind of this underlying talent that they all have.” 

Perry began a music in elementary school pilot program as well. The program included studies on the impacts, and Perry said the curriculum helped engage the students while incorporating math and other concepts.  

Perry also said the effort to set aside $38 million for UF to buy over 2,500 acres west of Gainesville will also receive scrutiny from the governor. The land is planned for conservation along with a 36-hole golf course as part of the deal. 

“That is going to be high on the governor’s list of potential vetoes,” Perry said. “I don’t know that that will happen.” 

Some locals have expressed concerns about the presence of a golf course in a strategic ecosystem, but Perry said he is confident IFAS and UF will protect and property manage the land. 

Perry also sponsored legislation this year that gives property owners more power to deal with squatters. The bill received unanimous approval in both chambers. 

The bill allows property owners to sign an affidavit that verifies that the squatters have no association with the owner—meaning no familial relationship or rental history. Then, law enforcement can remove the individuals.  

Perry noted that the property owners will then be held criminally liable if they lie on the affidavit and remove someone who had reason to be in the space.  

“It’s not like they’re late on their payment,” Perry said. “They’re illegally there. I told them on the House floor in debate, I said, ‘I like to refer to this as the relocation bill—where we’re going to relocate you from the illegal property you’re on to jail.’” 

Perry said it was an issue that didn’t come from constituents or lobbyists. He said his wife saw a story about squatters from Jacksonville and said Perry should help fix the issue.  

In Tallahassee, Perry found two other representatives working on the issue, and they joined efforts. Looking back at the bill, he said he would like to change a provision that still requires the property owner to give notice to the squatters, since it could put a homeowner in harm’s way. Perry said he wanted to remove that provision but ran out of time in the session. 

Perry echoed a sentiment on term limits that Hinson shared in last week’s interview. He said term limits give power to lobbyists who can propose legislation to new representatives who have yet to learn the system.  

Perry said he previously tried to pass legislation that would increase the term limits to 12 years—two six-year terms for senators and three four-year terms for representatives. But the bill had no traction. 

Even though most people agree when he explains the situation, Perry said he received only flak at the Capitol.  

“I was reading blogs about me as if I was some Castro from Cuba, you know, diverting the will of the people,” Perry said. 

Perry said he thinks the matter would need a referendum that would be difficult to set up, so the current term limits are secure for now.  

With the term limits, both Perry and Clemons will leave the Alachua County delegation. Perry said that could result in less focus on Gainesville Regional Utilities from the Legislature.  

He noted that state Sen. Jennifer Bradley lives in Clay County and represents northern Alachua County as a part of her district. Perry’s potential successor, Stan McClain, lives in Marion County and will represent southern Alachua County. Chad Johnson, who could succeed Clemons, lives in Levy County and would also represent western Alachua County if selected by voters.  

Perry said that could leave Alachua County with less attention. 

“I’m not saying they don’t care, but there’s only so much time and bandwidth you have to deal with issues,” Perry said. “So, I don’t know that [GRU governance] would be a big issue.”