Florida lawmakers close to finalizing 2025-26 state budget after weeks of deadlock

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For Gov. Ron DeSantis, the budget coming together during negotiations among lawmakers is several days late and several million dollars short in key areas.
In talks between House and Senate leaders June 9 and June 10, lawmakers agreed to a spending plan that doesn't include a cut in property taxes used for schools, falls shy of what DeSantis wanted for raises for state troopers and leaves out funding for Hope Florida, a conservative alternative to welfare championed by First Lady Casey DeSantis.
'Any attempt to try to shortchange Highway Patrol will not be viewed favorably, certainly (not) by me and I know (not) by the people of Florida,' DeSantis said during a Cabinet meeting June 10.
DeSantis called for a 25% raise for all veteran state law enforcement officials and a 20% hike for entry-level officers. The budget deal includes a 10% raise for new hires and 15% increase for veteran officers.
The Legislature is already 40 days past its originally May 2 deadline to pass a budget. A stalemate between the chambers over Miami Republican House Speaker Daniel Perez's plan to cut the state sales tax pushed the session into overtime. Perez and Senate President Ben Albritton eventually agreed to a deal to cut taxes but not the overall rate.
Under the agreements reached June 10, another proposal pushed by DeSantis hit the cutting room floor, at least for the next year.
The K-12 schools budget is poised to get a $945 million increase, but $674.5 million of that is from an increase in property tax revenues. DeSantis wanted to eliminate the state portion of the property tax for homeowners with a homestead exemption and use state money to backfill it.
DeSantis, though, has railed against the very concept of property taxes in recent months, arguing homeowners aren't really secure in their ownership if they have to pay taxes to the government each year for their property.
He's floated the idea of an expanded property tax exemption, something that would have to go before voters on the November 2026 ballot, but also wanted to use the state portion of the school property tax to provide a $1,000 rebate to some homeowners next year.
'We need to do more. We need people to actually own their property,' DeSantis said. 'It's not something that can be simply done by legislation. It is going to require a ballot initiative and I'm going to be leading the charge to be able to get that done for the people of this state because it's pinching a lot of people.'
Lawmakers are also prepared to deny funding for four new positions in DeSantis' office to host a Hope Florida office, which would coordinate efforts of the initiative.
But the bill to put that into place failed during the session, amid a House probe into a $10 million payment by a Medicaid vendor to a charity tied to the initiative.
That money was then moved to two other nonprofits, which then passed them on to a political committee led by James Uthmeier, who at the time was DeSantis' chief of staff and has since been named Attorney General.
The money was used to combat proposed constitutional amendments on last year's ballot that would have legalized recreational marijuana and installed abortion rights.
Senate Appropriations chair Ed Hooper, R-Clearwater, said there could still be more money added for Hope navigators, the state workers who coordinate aid for residents among agencies, charities and businesses with the aim of getting them off government assistance.
'We're having discussions about other opportunities for those programs to do what they need to do,' Hooper told reporters June 10. 'I think in chatting with the governor's office, they're OK with where we are in language right now, but there's still a couple of days left to land this plane.'
Before the budget is finalized, each chamber often adds a supplemental funding packet at the end of budget negotiations, offering a last-gasp opportunity for programs that missed out in initial negotiations.
It's better known in Capitol circles as the 'sprinkle lists,' a nickname from the idea that lawmakers are "sprinkling" extra money across the state – often to favored districts or causes – after the core budget already has been finalized. These lists, created behind closed doors by House and Senate leadership, have been decried by watchdogs like Florida TaxWatch.
At the same time, DeSantis is getting much of what he requested from lawmakers for cancer research.
The pending budget is set to provide more than $200 million for cancer research, including a program named after Casey DeSantis, who overcame breast cancer. The House initially resisted a push for a $30 million pot of money dedicated to pediatric cancer research.
Another cancer fund, however, the Mary Brogan Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, is set to be eliminated, at least under the latest budget offer. The program, named after the late wife of former Lt. Gov. Frank Brogan, provides screenings for breast and cervical cancer. Mary Brogan died in 1999 from breast cancer.
Hooper indicated that program could get another look before the end of budget talks: 'It may be zeroed out on the budget line, but it may be possibly available for some further consideration,' Hooper told reporters June 10. 'I happen to be a big believer in the Mary Brogan program.'
Gray Rohrer is a reporter with the USA TODAY Network-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at [e-mail]. Follow him on X: @GrayRohrer.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: DeSantis loses ground as key state budget items dropped or downsized