Latest news with #HouseWays&Means
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
In rare move, House holds line on unrestricted local aid
BOSTON (SHNS) – Cities and towns would not see any increase in one of their largest sources of state aid under the budget proposal House Democrats rolled out Wednesday. The House Ways and Means Committee's $61.4 billion fiscal 2026 budget would level-fund unrestricted general government aid, or UGGA, at $1.31 billion. It's an account that elected officials usually take pride in boosting. If the House's approach prevails, it would be the first time since fiscal 2021 — which began early in the COVID-19 pandemic — that Beacon Hill did not increase that annual appropriation. Gov. Maura Healey in her January budget filing proposed boosting UGGA funding by $28.8 million, a 2.2% increase that mirrors the rate of growth that state budget-writers forecast for overall state tax collections. A House Ways and Means Committee spokesperson said the panel opted to increase other sources of local funding, including the per-pupil minimum school aid, instead of UGGA. 'Given the tight budget year, HWM decided to focus more of our local aid increases in education, which is why we allocated $150 per pupil for school districts, 100% charter reimbursement, and helping school districts with special education circuit breaker FY25 and FY26 costs in the supplemental budget the House passed last week,' spokesperson Blake Webber said. 'Those education items were one of the most prominent items the committee heard about from both members of the House and from municipalities as well.' House Minority Leader Brad Jones said he worries the UGGA freeze could 'somewhat undercut' the push to increase per-pupil minimum aid. He praised unrestricted government aid as one of the most flexible options for municipalities, who can use it on education, police, public works and other needs. 'If we're taking money that's completely eligible to be spent anywhere and using that to subsidize just education, I think we're taking it out of the left pocket to put it in the right pocket,' Jones said in an interview. City and town leaders rely on UGGA to supplement property tax revenues and support their local budgets. The funding stream is one of several in the local aid bucket, and House Democrats estimate their budget includes more than $9.5 billion in total local aid. Adam Chapdelaine, executive director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, said his group would push for an increase in UGGA. 'The MMA and local leaders are deeply grateful for the House Ways & Means proposal's investments, including a historic increase for K-12 education, with $150 per student in minimum new aid,' Chapdelaine said in a statement. 'In a time of economic uncertainty, the MMA will continue to work with the Legislature during this months-long budget process to enhance investments in cities and towns, including Unrestricted General Government Aid, to address escalating costs and protect essential local services.' For years, state government increased unrestricted general government aid by the same rate as the anticipated increase in tax revenues. But in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, some municipal leaders said even that level of growth was insufficient to match inflation. While House Democrats are moving to freeze UGGA in a departure from Healey's approach, they also went beyond the governor's proposed increases to other sources of local aid. The House budget calls for $7.12 billion in Chapter 70 education aid, plus a $240 million minimum aid supplement, together about $40 million more than Healey suggested, according to a Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation analysis. Representatives are moving to double Healey's minimum aid per pupil, from $75 to $150. Jones suggested his caucus will 'look to see if there's a way in the budget to restore [UGGA], in whole or in part,' when debate begins the week of April 28. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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.
