Latest news with #HB5001
Miami Herald
10-04-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Tax relief at issue as Florida House and Senate begin budget negotiations
The House and Senate on Wednesday passed proposed budgets that are billions of dollars apart, giving them a little more than three weeks to mesh their spending goals and reach an agreement on tax cuts. While the House has proposed cutting the state's overall sales-tax rate, the Senate on Wednesday outlined a less-aggressive proposal that would provide a permanent sales-tax exemption on clothes and shoes costing $75 or less. Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, said he expects the House and Senate to 'end up somewhere in the middle' on a budget. The legislative session is scheduled to end May 2, with the state's new fiscal year starting July 1. 'We're going in the right direction. We're communicating well. We're working together,' Albritton said after a Senate floor session. 'And I have every expectation we'll get the plane landed.' Later, House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, said he expects lawmakers will reach budget agreements on time, while also saying 'we believe in our budget.' The Senate budget proposal (SB 2500) totals $117.36 billion. The House proposal (HB 5001) has a bottom line of $112.95 billion and is linked to a $5.4 billion tax package (HB 7031) that includes reducing the overall state sales-tax rate from 6% to 5.25%. Gov. Ron DeSantis has said he wants a one-time property tax break for homesteaded properties and to ask voters in 2026 to pass a constitutional amendment to reduce or eliminate property taxes. He also has requested the elimination over two years of a sales tax on commercial leases and sales-tax 'holidays' on school supplies, recreational items, hurricane supplies, ammunition and firearms. Echoing DeSantis, Rep. Mike Caruso, R-Delray Beach, said no one is 'clamoring' for the House sales-tax cut, which he said would only provide 'minimum immediate relief' while inadvertently benefitting 'out-of-state visitors and tourists.' 'I'd rather see the money go to real Floridians, the ones that call this state home,' Caruso said before joining a unanimous vote in support of the House tax proposal. House Ways & Means Chairman Wyman Duggan, R-Jacksonville, noted that DeSantis didn't recommend the one-time property tax cut until after the House 'rolled out the sales tax relief.' The House tax package also would reduce the commercial-lease tax from 2% to 1.25%, cut the sales-tax rate on electricity from 4.35% to 3.6%, reduce the tax rate on sales of new mobile homes from 3% to 2.25% and trim the rate on coin-operated amusement machines, such as pinball machines, from 4% to 3.25%. Albritton has cautioned against making cuts that lawmakers might have to readdress within a couple of years. On Wednesday, he pitched the proposed sales-tax elimination on clothes and shoes as being 'where it can help the most number of Floridians.' The Senate proposal also would direct the Legislature's Office of Economic and Demographic Research to study the effects of reducing or eliminating property taxes for homesteaded properties. Among other things, it would lead to holding a 'back-to-school' tax holiday in August; a tax holiday on disaster-preparedness supplies in June; a tax holiday on recreational items in July; a tax holiday on tools around Labor Day; and a 'hunting season' tax holiday in September and October on guns, ammo and other hunting supplies. The estimated $750 million package is expected to go to the Senate Finance and Tax Committee on Tuesday. The House and Senate budget proposals are below the $117.46 billion budget lawmakers passed last year before it faced DeSantis vetoes, mid-year adjustments and veto overrides. Senate Appropriations Chairman Ed Hooper, R-Clearwater, described the goal as 'right-sizing' state spending. The House voted 98-6 to approve its proposed budget, which includes cuts in spending on agencies and programs. Rep. Felicia Robinson, D-Miami Gardens, said the House should invest in programs that promote growth, as reducing services at a time the state has strong reserves will 'lead to job losses, reduced public services and a less stable economy.' 'I understand us trying to be conservative, but doing anything to the extreme can be detrimental,' Robinson said. The House and Senate agree on some issues, such as continuing to spend $80 million next year on the tourist-marketing agency Visit Florida. But they differ in other areas, such as the Senate proposing to spend $750 million for Everglades restoration and the House proposing $357 million. 'Over the last 10 years the Legislature has appropriated nearly $4 billion for Everglades restoration. Of this amount, over $1.1 billion remains unspent, $900 million from the last two fiscal years,' House Agriculture & Natural Resources Budget Chairwoman Rep. Tiffany Esposito, R-Fort Myers, said. 'We believe it's fiscally responsible to reduce our appropriation of funds until the dollars we've already appropriated have been spent.' Seeking to help the state's troubled citrus industry, the Senate would spend $200 million for research and to help packinghouses and growers, with $125 million included for new trees. The House has proposed $10 million to fight citrus canker disease, which has caused massive damage to the industry over the past two decades.
CBS News
10-04-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Florida House, Senate pass budget plans, let the negotiations begin
The state's House and Senate passed proposed budgets on Wednesday that are billions of dollars apart, giving them a little more than three weeks to mesh their spending goals and reach an agreement on tax cuts. While the House has proposed cutting the state's overall sales tax rate , the Senate on Wednesday outlined a less-aggressive proposal that would provide a permanent sales tax exemption on clothes and shoes costing $75 or less. Republican Senate President Ben Albritton said he expects the House and Senate to "end up somewhere in the middle" on a budget. The legislative session is scheduled to end May 2, with the state's new fiscal year starting July 1. "We're going in the right direction. We're communicating well. We're working together," Albritton said after a Senate floor session. "And I have every expectation we'll get the plane landed." Later, Republican House Speaker Daniel Perez said he expects lawmakers will reach budget agreements on time, while also saying "we believe in our budget." The Senate budget proposal (SB 2500) totals $117.36 billion. The House proposal (HB 5001) has a bottom line of $112.95 billion and is linked to a $5.4 billion tax package (HB 7031) that includes reducing the overall state sales tax rate from 6% to 5.25%. Gov. Ron DeSantis has said he wants a one-time property tax break for homesteaded properties and to ask voters in 2026 to pass a constitutional amendment to reduce or eliminate property taxes . He also has requested the elimination over two years of a sales tax on commercial leases and sales tax "holidays" on school supplies, recreational items, hurricane supplies, ammunition and firearms. Echoing DeSantis, Republican Rep. Mike Caruso said no one is "clamoring" for the House sales tax cut, which he said would only provide "minimum immediate relief" while inadvertently benefitting "out-of-state visitors and tourists." "I'd rather see the money go to real Floridians, the ones that call this state home," Caruso said before joining a unanimous vote in support of the House tax proposal. House Ways & Means Chairman Wyman Duggan noted that DeSantis didn't recommend the one-time property tax cut until after the House "rolled out the sales tax relief ." The House tax package also would reduce the commercial-lease tax from 2% to 1.25%, cut the sales tax rate on electricity from 4.35% to 3.6%, reduce the tax rate on sales of new mobile homes from 3% to 2.25% and trim the rate on coin-operated amusement machines, such as pinball machines, from 4% to 3.25%. Albritton has cautioned against making cuts that lawmakers might have to readdress within a couple of years. On Wednesday, he pitched the proposed sales tax elimination on clothes and shoes as being "where it can help the most number of Floridians." The Senate proposal also would direct the Legislature's Office of Economic and Demographic Research to study the effects of reducing or eliminating property taxes for homesteaded properties. Among other things, it would lead to holding a "back-to-school" tax holiday in August; a tax holiday on disaster-preparedness supplies in June; a tax holiday on recreational items in July; a tax holiday on tools around Labor Day; and a "hunting season" tax holiday in September and October on guns, ammo and other hunting supplies. The estimated $750 million package is expected to go to the Senate Finance and Tax Committee on Tuesday. The House and Senate budget proposals are below the $117.46 billion budget lawmakers passed last year before it faced DeSantis vetoes, mid-year adjustments and veto overrides. Senate Appropriations Chairman Ed Hooper, R-Clearwater, described the goal as "right-sizing" state spending. The House voted 98-6 to approve its proposed budget, which includes cuts in spending on agencies and programs. Democratic Rep. Felicia Robinson said the House should invest in programs that promote growth, as reducing services at a time the state has strong reserves will "lead to job losses, reduced public services and a less stable economy." "I understand us trying to be conservative, but doing anything to the extreme can be detrimental," Robinson said. The House and Senate agree on some issues, such as continuing to spend $80 million next year on the tourist-marketing agency Visit Florida. But they differ in other areas, such as the Senate proposing to spend $750 million for Everglades restoration and the House proposing $357 million. "Over the last 10 years the Legislature has appropriated nearly $4 billion for Everglades restoration. Of this amount, over $1.1 billion remains unspent, $900 million from the last two fiscal years," House Agriculture & Natural Resources Budget Chairwoman Rep. Tiffany Esposito said. "We believe it's fiscally responsible to reduce our appropriation of funds until the dollars we've already appropriated have been spent." Seeking to help the state's troubled citrus industry, the Senate would spend $200 million for research and to help packinghouses and growers, with $125 million included for new trees. The House has proposed $10 million to fight citrus canker disease, which has caused massive damage to the industry over the past two decades.
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
