TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – After weeks of gridlock and a missed deadline, Florida lawmakers are expected to vote on this year’s state budget on Monday, just two weeks before the fiscal year begins on July 1.
Budget negotiations between the House and Senate wrapped up Friday, six weeks past the original May 2 deadline, because lawmakers could not reach an agreement on how to structure the budget or deliver tax cuts.
Budget talks picked back up on May 30, when House and Senate leaders agreed on a rough plan to move forward.
That plan focused on big-ticket items like tax cuts and major spending decisions.
“A lot of people have spoken to us about, you know, ‘you took a month away from here and nothing happened,’” Senate Appropriations Chairman Ed Hooper, R-Trinity, told reporters Friday. “Well, there was stuff happening and we knew that we had to come here, to get to where we are today. Because come July 1, nobody wanted a government shutdown. Nobody wanted employees to be without a paycheck.”
The proposed plan includes:
- $900 million in tax cuts by eliminating the commercial lease tax — a long-standing priority for business groups
- $350 million in permanent sales tax breaks for Florida families
- $250 million to pay down state debt
- $750 million added to the rainy-day fund — the state’s emergency savings account
By Friday, lawmakers also agreed to:
- Spend $560 million on about 280 local projects — including parks, schools, roads, emergency services, and museums
- Allocate $460.7 million for water-related projects, a compromise between the Senate’s and House’s initial proposals
Lawmakers also appear to be backing away from proposed cuts to education programs. Those include AP, IB, AICE, and Dual Enrollment — which were previously at risk of losing funding.
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After lawmakers pass the budget, Gov. Ron DeSantis will have about two weeks to sign it and issue vetoes before the July 1 start of the fiscal year.
