Latest news with #DannyPerez
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Budget conference begins on Tuesday
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. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
No budget talks until after June 2, Florida legislative leaders tell members
House Speaker Danny Perez (L) and Senate President Ben Albritton (R) still have not agreed on fiscal year 2025-26 spending and tax structure. (Photo via the Florida House and Florida Senate). The latest news about budget negotiations between the Florida House and Senate is that there really isn't any news to report. House Speaker Daniel Perez and Senate President Ben Albritton issued brief statements late Friday afternoon telling their members that they do not need to plan on returning to Tallahassee next week. 'I hope to have a better idea of our scheduling moving forward in the next few days and will share another update after the Memorial Day Holiday,' Albritton wrote. 'We continue working closely with the Senate toward a final budget agreement,' added Perez in his own statement to his members. 'We will ensure you have the necessary notice to make travel and scheduling arrangements when the time comes.' The 60-day regular legislative session was scheduled to end three weeks ago, on May 2. However, the two chambers have not been able to come together on a budget, the only job that they are constitutionally required to accomplish. The dispute mainly centers on the issue of tax cuts. The session was originally extended to June 2, but the House returned to Tallahassee for one day last week to extend until June 30 – something that the Senate has yet to do. The fiscal year ends on June 30. If lawmakers don't pass a budget by that time it would mean a government shutdown. The budget passed by the House in April was $113 billion, about $4.4 billion less than the Senate's spending plan. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Families, businesses pay most of Florida's sales tax, state analysis shows
A 2021-2022 breakdown shows Florida households accounted for nearly two-thirds of sales tax revenue. (Screenshot via Office of Economic & Demographic Research) Roughly two-thirds of Florida's sales tax proceeds comes from households in the state, the latest analysis prepared by state economists shows, while tourists account for about 16% of the revenue collected. The annual analysis was posted last week by Office of Economic and Demographic Research and comes amid debate over whether to cut sales taxes c or look for ways to cut property taxes paid by homeowners. Florida levies a 6% sales tax on retail, admissions, transient lodgings, and commercial real estate rentals, unless expressly exempted. A House legislative analysis shows that sales tax is projected to account for nearly 74% of the states general revenue in state fiscal year 2024-25. Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to cut property taxes first and has cited the payment of sales taxes by 'tourists' and 'Canadians' as one justification. House Republicans, meanwhile, have touted their proposal to cut more than $5 billion in sales taxes as something that could take effect much sooner. House Speaker Danny Perez wants to trim back the sales tax from 6% to 5.25%. EDR, which reports to the Legislature, estimates the source of sales tax revenue on an annual basis, but because state economists rely on data available from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics there is a lag, said Amy Baker, coordinator of the office. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The latest report, which is based on 2021-'22 information, calculates that households paid 65.8% of sales tax collections while businesses were responsible for slightly more than 18%. Tourists accounted for 16.1%. Florida has a very regressive tax structure partly because we are so reliant on sales tax. For Floridians who make less they pay more of their income to taxation. … Any effort to address that imbalance is a positive one in my book.' – Rep. Anna Eskamani These numbers have fluctuated somewhat, and previous reports show that tourists accounted for roughly 13% of sales tax collections in 2016 and 2017. The number of tourists has been on the upswing in recent years, according to Visit Florida, the state's tourism marketing arm. EDR's 2019-20 report estimated that more than 76% of sales taxes collected in that fiscal year came from households compared to 11.9% from tourists. When discussing his own plan to lower property taxes, DeSantis argued that a cut in sales taxes would allow 'relief for foreigners. It allows relief for visitors and part-time residents. I think that tax relief needs to be focused on Floridians.' The governor wants legislators to give an estimated 5.1 million residents who have a homestead exemption on their property taxes a rebate averaging $1,000 in December. That would be followed by a 2026 ballot proposal to enact a permanent tax cut. The House, however, is moving ahead with its sales tax plan. The bill cleared its first committee unanimously on Wednesday with both Democrats and Republicans on the Ways and Means Committee praising the idea. 'Florida has a very regressive tax structure partly because we are so reliant on sales tax,' said Rep. Anna Eskamani, a Democrat from Orlando. 'For Floridians who make less they pay more of their income to taxation. … Any effort to address that imbalance is a positive one in my book.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Save the date: House takes up budget veto overrides on Wednesday
House Speaker Danny Perez is initiating a veto override of about $4.7 million in projects. (Photo via Florida House of Representatives) It may not amount to a lot of money, but the Florida House could soon override more budget vetoes made last summer of Gov. Ron DeSantis. This could set up yet another flashpoint between the governor and the Legislature this year. The House on Wednesday will consider whether to override about $4.74 million in vetoes made by DeSantis before he signed the current-year state budget into law. The veto override list contains four projects ranging from $140,000 for a program aimed at preventing homelessness for senior veterans to $2.5 million for a program to remove 29,106 pounds of nitrogen per year from Rockledge's water supply. Former Rep. Thad Altman championed the Rockledge request. The Florida Senior Veterans Crisis Fund wanted to use the money in part to hire two additional staff to help wartime veterans gather paperwork to qualify them for a Department of Veterans Affairs benefit for themselves and their surviving spouses. The benefit provides financial assistance for long-term help with daily activities such as bathing, dressing, eating, toileting, and transferring. The funding request was made by Sen. Jennifer Bradley and former state Rep. Sam Killebrew. The House budget request form notes that 'Florida has the 3rd highest Veteran population in the US and without these VA benefits many are forced to go on (Florida's) Medicaid program, live in nursing homes or even worse become homeless.' The form says that by enrolling people in the federal program, Florida can save between $5 million and $6 million annually in Medicaid. This will be the second time in a handful of weeks the House has voted on veto overrides. The Legislature voted in late January to override DeSantis' veto of nearly $57 million from the Legislature's budget. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX House Speaker Danny Perez announced 'combined workgroups' before the start of the 2025 session and tasked them with identifying potential vetoes DeSantis made in the state fiscal year (FY) 2024-25 budget for the House to override. For the overrides to be successful, the Senate must follow suit. The veto process starts in the House because the budget, contained in HB 5001, originated in the House. The House also is voting on whether to override the veto of $1.1 million to make improvements to the Town of Baldwin's water and sewer systems. According to a House report, town staff has in the last year 'been in a perpetual state of making costly emergency, and often dangerous, repairs to the Town's water and sewer mains. This project would ensure the portions of the water and sewer mains that are susceptible to failure are replaced or rehabilitated, resulting in significantly increased safety and reliability to the water and sewer infrastructure. ' Rep. Dean Black, a Republican from Jacksonville, requested the funding. The Legislature has for the past decade included funding in the budget for a roster and time management system the Department of Corrections uses for timesheet and payroll data management and did the same in the FY 24-25 budget, including $1 million for the system. DeSantis, though, vetoed the funding. The House vote on overriding that veto, too. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
More autism bills moving through House, Senate panels
The Legislature continues on its path to improve access to health care for children and adults with autism spectrum disorder, with a Senate committee voting unanimously Tuesday to eliminate a requirement that children be diagnosed with autism by age 8 to qualify for insurance. The legislation, SB 756, also requires policies sold to large employers (defined as businesses with more than 50 employees) to cover the benefit until the child no longer is covered by the policy. Today, applied behavior analysis and other services meant to habilitate people with autism are only required to be provided until the child is 18. The bill doesn't alter the annual or lifetime limits of $36,000 and $180,000, respectively. Senate releases sweeping autism proposal Senate OKs sweeping autism bill as Capitol focuses on developmental disabilities The bill revises the definition of the term, 'autism spectrum disorder' to conform with the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), which identifies a condition characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and interaction and repetitive behaviors. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of 2020 an estimated one in 36 children aged 8 has autism. The Senate already has passed legislation aimed at improving access to autism diagnoses and educational opportunities. SB 112 was the first bill to clear the Senate and passed unanimously. It's a top priority for Speaker Ben Albritton and House Speaker Danny Perez. A House education panel on Tuesday agreed to amend HB 591 to make the bill identical to its Senate counterpart, according to House bill sponsor Rep. Randy Maggard.
