Budget conference begins on Tuesday

Yahoo

02-06-2025

Senate President Ben Albritton (L) and House Speaker Danny Perez (R). (Photos via Florida Senate and Florida House of Representatives)
Florida legislators are finally heading back to Tallahassee to wrap up their work for the year.
Senate President Ben Albritton and House Speaker Daniel Perez announced late Friday that closed-door negotiations had yielded a breakthrough on the state budget as legislative leaders agreed to a 'framework' they will use to draw up a final budget bill.
The plan as outlined in memos to House and Senate members is for legislators to begin formal budget conference meetings on Tuesday with the goal of voting out a new budget for 2025-26 by June 16. Florida's fiscal year starts on July 1.
The main job each year of the Florida Legislature is to pass an annual budget which authorizes billions in spending on education, healthcare, the environment, transportation, public safety, and more. The lingering standoff on the budget had led to the possibility of a state government shutdown
While many details remain unclear, the deal announced on Friday would yield a substantial tax cut break for businesses versus a much smaller set of tax cuts for Florida families. The agreement does not include any consideration of a cut in the sales tax rate that had been championed by Perez and House Republicans.
Legislators left town in early May after failing to pass a budget during their 60-day session. On its final day, the House and Senate agreed to extend until June 6. At the time, Albritton and Perez announced an agreement to cut taxes by $2.8 billion, including a cut in the state's sales tax.
But that deal fell apart after Gov. Ron DeSantis warned he'd veto it, lest it undercut his push to reduce property taxes. Albritton backed away from the earlier deal. That decision prompted sharp criticism from Perez, who said that Albritton had broken his word.
The new agreement calls for $2.25 billion in 'revenue reductions' that include the elimination of the sales tax charged on commercial leases and business rent that is estimated to cost $900 million.
The two sides also agreed to $350 million in 'permanent sales tax exemptions targeted toward Florida families.' The memo did not explain exactly what exemptions, although the Senate previously had suggested eliminating some taxes charged on shoes and clothes.
The rest of the revenue reductions, however, would include $200 million for paying down existing state debt and $750 million that would eventually be placed in the Budget Stabilization Fund. The size of that 'rainy day fund' is now capped, so legislative leaders would ask voters in 2026 to approve raising that limit. In the meanwhile, they want to set aside money in reserves that will eventually go to the fund.
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