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Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Public education funding agreed to; policy still outstanding
The Stone Education building on the Florida State University campus is the home of its College of Education. (Photo by Jay Waagmeester/Florida Phoenix) In a time when the Legislature is trying to pare back the size of the state budget, lawmakers agreed this week to pump more than $29 billion into K-12 education, a $945 million increase over current year spending Per student funding would increase by $142.74, to $9,130, under a plan House and Senate budget conferees agreed to this week, a 1.59% increase from the current fiscal year. 'It's adequate, it's historic, it's all of the things. It's really good,' House budget chief Rep. Lawrence McClure said of per student funding. Much of the K-12 education budget increase, 71%, would be funded by local property taxes, Politico first reported. Florida's growing school choice program, in which state dollars can be used for private school tuition or homeschooling, has decreased public schools' share of enrollment. 'I think we can all agree that the public school population is declining. The schools still are open and operating, so that expense is there, and if there's fewer students being there then money comes from somewhere [else],' Senate budget chief Sen. Ed Hooper told reporters this week. The spending agreement was made as legislators met in an extended session dedicated to crafting a budget for state fiscal year 2025-26, which begins July 1. The extension was necessary because legislative leadership couldn't agree during the 60-day regular session on how much money to spend and ways to reduce taxes. As part of the K-12 agreement, the chambers agreed to allocate an extra $101.6 million toward teacher salary increases statewide, targeting an area Florida has lagged in. Last year, salary increase allocations went up by about $200 million. Gov. Ron DeSantis proposed about $250 million for teacher and personnel salary increases this year. According to the National Education Association, Florida is 50th in the nation for average teacher salaries. Accelerated courses like Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate were facing reduced funding under earlier proposals, but pushback from school officials and constituents made a difference. Ultimately, the programs are funded at a rate consistent with the current year, $596 million. The chambers have agreed to infuse an additional $6 million into the Schools of Hope program. Schools of Hope are charter schools opened near struggling schools. While lawmakers agreed to extend the session to address the budget, they have found creative ways to use the spending blueprint to readdress substantive legislation that died during the regular 60-day session. That policy-focused legislation will be included in what's called a 'conforming bill.' Unlike the budget, which expires in a year, conforming bills make permanent changes to statutes. As of publication, a K-12 education conforming bill had not been released. The chambers have publicly discussed reviving a bill that died during the regular 60-day session to allow Schools of Hope to open inside persistently low-performing public schools or on the property. Lawmakers are looking to adjust how school choice scholarships are reimbursed as more students use the option. Throughout the session, school administrators and legislators expressed concerns about how and when money is paid to scholarship recipients or schools, saying it was impossible to track where some students were enrolled. 'Obviously, the accounting for the scholarships has not gone well. We're trying to come up with a way that the money does follow the child, the student, and instead of reporting quarterly I think we are going to report monthly,' Hooper said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Dead bills resurface in budget talks
Legislators are meeting in Tallahassee to hammer out the fiscal year 2025-26 budget and avoid a government shutdown before July 1 Florida legislators are using budget negotiations to revisit substantive legislation related to education and health care that didn't pass during the 2025 regular session. DeSantis' push to shakeup cancer funding could be in trouble in the House One House bill would have revised how low-performing schools are classified and how Schools of Hope can be started. HB 1267 passed the House on party lines; however; the Senate never took it up. The issue resurfaced in the budget conference on Tuesday when the House proposed to allow charter schools to open inside low-performing public schools. The budget document shared with the public outlining the House's offer didn't contain any additional details. The School of Hope program started in 2017 and allows charter schools to open near persistently low-performing schools. In 2023-2024, there were 51 persistently low-performing schools. The bill would've classified more schools as persistently low-performing by changing the definition. 'The House has been pretty consistent that we want students to have access to the best educational opportunities,' House budget chief Rep. Lawrence McClure told reporters Tuesday. The two chambers have already agreed to $6 million in nonrecurring funding for Schools of Hope for the state fiscal year 2025-26 budget. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The House agreed to adopt a number of Senate-coveted issues related to nursing homes that were contained in SB 170, including requiring long-term care facilities to conduct patient safety and culture surveys at least once every two years. The Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) would be required to include the results in its nursing home guide. Additionally, the House agreed with the Senate's proposal to require nursing home medical directors to obtain designation from the American Medical Director Association or to hold a comparable credential or be in the process of seeking those credentials by Jan. 1, 2026. The House agreed to the Senate's proposal to fine nursing homes or headquarters of nursing homes that don't submit their financial data to AHCA's financial reporting system. The Senate wants to amend the Medicaid law to include a $10,000 fine per violation. SB 170 was sponsored by Sen. Colleen Burton and was a priority for Senate President Ben Albritton. who fast-tracked it through the chamber, with the Senate passing the bill unanimously on April 9. But the House never considered the proposal. While the House has agreed to those nursing home-related issues in its conforming bill offer, technically they still aren't finalized because the Senate hasn't agreed with the House's offer. Conforming bills are budget-related bills that change substantive law to reflect spending decisions. Unlike the budget, which remains in effect for the state fiscal year, conforming bills change substantive law and remain in effect until the laws are changed. With no Medicaid expansion on horizon Florida lawmakers take on scope battles (again) The House also included in its Tuesday healthcare offer a proposal to expand the duties dental hygienists are allowed to perform. The House wants to amend the dental hygienist licensure laws to allow hygienists who practice under general supervision to use a dental diode laser to reduce or eliminate plaque in spaces between a tooth and the gums. Only hygienists who complete a 12-hour in-person course recognized by the Board of Dentistry or the American Dental Association would qualify. House Speaker Daniel Perez has championed giving dental hygienists a larger role in the health care system since he was a freshman. After seemingly rejecting the idea during the 2025 session, the House appears to have changed direction and is proposing to open up to other hospitals $127.5 million that has been, until now, dedicated solely to four National Cancer Institute-designated facilities: Moffitt Cancer Center; University of Florida Health Cancer Center; Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine; and Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center. The House's proposal amends the statutory definition of cancer center to include community cancer centers accredited by the American College of Surgeons as a Comprehensive Community Cancer Program or Integrated Network Cancer Program, to qualify for the funds. It's not clear which hospitals would benefit from the change. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Florida House passes $5B tax reduction plan
Rep. Lawrence McClure and Speaker Daniel Perez discuss the budget impasse at a news conference April 24, 2025. (Photo by Jay Waagmeester/Florida Phoenix) The House on Friday voted, 78-29, to pass a $5 billion tax relief package, with most of the opposition involving changes to the collection of tourist development dollars. While it was a mostly partisan vote in support, the bill faces opposition from Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has pushed for the elimination of property taxes and a $1,000 homeowner rebate, and Senate President Ben Albritton who has rolled out a more modest tax relief package. Disagreement over the breadth of tax relief is a primary reason the Legislature is unlikely to pass a state budget within the 60-day legislative session, scheduled to end on May 2. HB 7033 sponsor Rep. Wyman Duggan called the proposed tax reduction historic. 'It's record breaking. It's historic. It's permanent. It's immediate. Every citizen in the state will benefit from it,' he said. Specifically, the bill would lower Florida's state sales tax rate by 0.75%, to 5.25%. The bill would reduce all other sales tax rates by the same amount — commercial rent from 2% to 1.25%; electricity from 4.35% to 3.6%; new mobile home purchases from 3% to 2.25%; and coin-operated amusement machines from 4% to 3.25%. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Most of the criticism on the floor centered around the changes to the tourist development tax, known as the 'hotel bed tax.' Florida law authorizes counties to levy five separate tourist development taxes for specified purposes, all of which are generally related to the tourism industry. These taxes cover a bevy of uses — financing stadiums; operating convention centers; funding tourism development councils; and promoting publicly owned zoological parks among them. These are levied in 62 of the state's 67 counties with total combined rates ranging from a low of 2% to a high of 6%, according to a legislative analysis of the bill. HB 7033 redirects the use of tourist development taxes away from tourism-related efforts to the county's general revenue coffers instead. The bill directs the funds to be used to offset county property taxes beginning in 2026. Rep. Allison Tant, who represents parts of Leon, Jefferson, and Madison counties, said the tax receipts are vital to those counties, none of which offer the beaches that beckon so many tourists to Florida. Rather, those counties rely on bed taxes to market the wonder of rural Florida — the 'part of our state you don't see in fancy brochures on the turnpike or inexpensive ads on TV.' 'Pulling tourism development tax dollars from this effort will not just further starve fiscally constrained counties, but also punish them for their self-sufficiency,' Tant said. It's record breaking. It's historic. It's permanent. It's immediate. Every citizen in the state will benefit from it. – Rep. Wyman Duggan While he has support of his chamber, Perez's ambitious $5 billion reduction doesn't have the support of his counterpart, Senate President Albritton. The disagreement is a major reason the House and Senate couldn't agree on the total dollar amount in spending for the state fiscal year 2025-26 and won't pass a spending plan before the end of the 60-day session. Albritton is on board with tax relief but he has floated a more modest $2.1 billion tax plan, centered around a permanent elimination of the sales tax on clothing and shoes costing $75 or less. Other parts of his plan include a permanent reduction in the business rent tax from 2% to 1%, a one-time credit for vehicle registration fees, and several sales tax holidays. DeSantis opposes the House plan but not because of the price tag. The governor has proposed his own $5 billion cut starting with providing homeowners a $1,000 property tax rebate. From there, DeSantis wants to permanently eliminate property taxes, which would take voter approval and couldn't be done before November 2026. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Recent Florida laws face undoing in legislative session U-turn this year
Just a year ago, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the Live Healthy Act into law, providing $717 million for increases to Medicaid provider rates and expanding programs to teach and train health care workers. Now, the House's proposed spending plan that passed through its Budget Committee on Wednesday removes much of that funding. It's one of several instances where lawmakers are considering reversing decisions they made in recent years. New laws requiring schools to start later, to distribute gambling revenues for environmental programs, to provide dedicated funding for affordable housing programs and eliminate one-way attorney fees for property insurance disputes all could be undone this year. House leaders say reneging on spending for new initiatives is necessary in the light of the potentially dicey budget picture they'll face in the years to come. State economists project a $2 billion surplus for the next fiscal year, but a nearly $7 billion shortfall two years later if current spending trends continue. 'The Legislature often solves problems by passing a bill with a fancy name and promising to spend a lot of money,' House budget chief Rep. Lawrence McClure, R-Dover, said Wednesday before his panel passed the budget bills. As examples, he cited the Live Healthy Act, the Live Local Act passed in 2023 to address affordable housing, and the Moving Florida Forward program spearheaded by DeSantis, which provides $4 billion over two years to kickstart transportation projects. 'All of these decisions have left us with a bloated state budget and the average Floridian has little to show for it. It is also the reason we're now left with looming budget deficits,' McClure said. 'I'm not saying these programs are bad or undeserving of state funding, I just think each year the Legislature should decide its own priorities and not be bound by prior Legislature's decisions.' The Live Local and Live Healthy laws were top priorities of Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, who led the chamber as Senate president the previous two years. Her counterpart in the House was Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast. But with the November elections came a turnover in legislative leadership. Renner's successor as speaker – Republican Daniel Perez of Miami – is pushing a plan to cut the state sales tax from 6% to 5.25%, saving consumers about $5 billion but putting pressure on lawmakers to cut spending. The budget reversals aren't the only things the House is rethinking under Perez. It's moving forward with bills to undo changes to tort law aimed at reducing or eliminating attorney fees and payouts in insurance and medical claims cases. For instance, one bill (HB 1551) would restore one-way attorney fees in some cases – two years after lawmakers eliminated them entirely as a way to shore up a beleaguered property insurance market. The bill has passed through two committees in the House but hasn't advanced in the Senate. And another (HB 947) would allow more types of evidence to be admitted to show unpaid medical expenses in court, reversing a law passed by the Legislature in 2023. Renner isn't pleased with that move, and slammed it on social media last week. 'Just two years ago, the Florida Legislature ended sham litigation practices that made billboard lawyers rich at our expense,' Renner posted on X on Thursday. 'Very simply, a vote for this bill is a total giveaway to personal injury lawyers and will cost every Floridian money. "This defining vote should be an easy 'NO' for Republican members who supported our 2023 reforms and new members who want to take a principled stand for their constituents. Our reforms are working, and we must stay the course." But in a chamber dominated by Republicans, HB 947 has garnered just three negative votes in two committee hearings and is headed to the House floor. The Senate version of the bill (SB 1520) hasn't moved in that chamber. It isn't just the House making a U-turn on major policy initiatives, though. The Senate last month unanimously passed SB 296, which eliminates a requirement for schools to move start times later in the morning. Starting in the 2026-27 school year, middle school were to start no earlier than 8 a.m. and high school no earlier than 8:30 a.m. The move was intended to help students get more sleep and do better in the classroom. But many school districts said the logistical and funding challenges would be too great to comply with the law, moving lawmakers to reverse course. The House version of the bill (HB 261) is headed to the floor in that chamber. Mostly, though, it's the House spending plan looking to claw back decisions made within the last two years. It also wants to eliminate the law distributing gambling revenue funds for environmental programs. A law from last year puts at least $100 million in the Florida Wildlife Corridor and $100 million for land management activities, including $32 million for state parks. The House budget would sweep the funds into general revenue, the main funding source for state government operations. The House and Senate are scheduled to pass their respective budgets off the floor this week, setting the stage for formal talks between the chambers on a final spending plan for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Passidomo's successor – Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula – admitted being caught somewhat off-guard by the whiplash in the House budget but said he believes the chambers will be able to hammer out a budget deal that DeSantis will like. 'There are always surprises,' Albritton told reporters Thursday. 'There are three folks that want the best for Florida, and we will figure it out.' Gray Rohrer is a reporter with the USA TODAY Network-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at grohrer@ Follow him on X: @GrayRohrer. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida lawmakers make moves to undo major recent policy changes
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Taxes, state employees top discussions in House, Senate spending panels
House Budget Chair Lawrence McClure (L) and Senate Budget Chair Ed Hooper (Photos via the Florida Legislature) House and Senate spending committees in the Florida Legislature Wednesday signed off on proposed state budgets that are more than $4 billion apart in total spending, setting up a showdown as legislators reach the midway point of their 2025 session. The stark differences in their budgets will need to be reconciled over the next few weeks. The two chambers will formally vote out their budgets next week. The House-proposed budget adds up to nearly $113 billion while the Senate spending plan is nearly $117.4 billion — both less than the $118.6 billion being spent in this fiscal year's budget. Those figures include total spending, including federal funds. The main reason for the wide gap is that the House wants to trim spending now and return dollars leadership claims don't need to be spent. To that end, the House wants to cut the state's sales taxes by roughly $5 billion — a move that if ultimately approved would cut levies Floridians pay on a wide array of goods, ranging from non-food items they buy at the grocery store to cars, but leave less to spend on programs. 'We must remove the temptation to spend,' said Rep. Lawrence McClure, chair of the House Budget Committee. Both budget plans drew criticism for their cuts to support for access to accelerated courses at public schools, Everglades restoration, and state employees. Senate Appropriations Chairman Ed Hooper noted that state employees 'will be one of the bigger issues in conference that we're going to have to deal with.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX One glaring difference when it comes to state employees is that the Senate plan includes a 4% pay increase. The House budget doesn't include money for pay raises. 'The Senate budget recognizes the importance of our state employees,' Hooper said. The House budget eliminates positions that have been vacant for more than 90 days. The House budget funds 106,780 positions. The Senate budget also eliminates vacant positions but maintains authority for the agencies to hire those employees. The Senate budget funds 112,842 positions. The House proposes a strict drug formulary for employees using their state insurance coverage — a move that one House Republican predicted could save $126 million. But it was the chambers' conflicting positions on education funding that drew the most attention, both in public testimony and discussion among the members. Both chambers would increase bottom-line spending on education from the near-$28.6 billion being spent today. The House earmarks $29.33 billion, while the Senate version is $29.57 billion. Most of the debate in the House committee Wednesday focused on changes the chamber would make to financing for educational options. The chamber's proposed budget would reduce financial incentives to schools by half for every student who passes advanced placement tests, take dual-enrollment courses, or receive certifications for international baccalaureate courses. In the current year, schools receive $865 for each student who passes an AP exam. Students from Rickards High School, where Leon County's IB program is located, shared how the program changed their lives and opened opportunities for them at colleges like Cornell and Dartmouth. Following their testimony, House Budget Committee Vice Chair Susan Valdés counseled patience. 'We heard you. This is just in the committee process,' said Valdés, who switched parties from Democratic to Republican after winning reelection in November. 'This is a proposed piece of legislation — this is what's proposed and then we go from there. So, this is not the end product. Ok? So, your voices have been heard.' The Senate proposes reducing the funding for passing the tests by 50%, too, although schools would keep the money for other needs, if desired. Sen. Danny Burgess, chair of the education budget subcommittee, said the Senate version is 'better aligning additional program costs for advanced courses with funding provided through the bonus FTE.' He referred to the state's per-student financial support for public schools. We must remove the temptation to spend. – House Budget Committee Chair Rep. Lawrence McClure The budget represents just part of the state's financial picture. Taxes are another. House Speaker Daniel Perez and Gov. Ron DeSantis both want to return at least $5 billion to taxpayers but disagree sharply over how to do that. Senate President Ben Albritton has refrained from embracing either side so far and is taking a more cautious approach. Perez wants to permanently roll back the state's sales tax from six cents on the dollar to 5.25%. DeSantis wants to eliminate property taxes next year, via a constitutional amendment placed before voters in 2026, and, in advance of that, provide an average $1,000 rebate to the 5.1 million homesteaded properties across Florida. 'These are both significant ideas, worthy of our thought and consideration,' Albritton told his senators this week in an open letter. 'However, at this point, I believe it is prudent that a final tax cut package of this size be predominantly nonrecurring, while permanent tax cuts are explored during the interim.' 'Nonrecurring' means the cut would be for one year only. The House Ways and Means Committee, meanwhile, passed the Perez tax plan unanimously on Wednesday. While the budgets are about $4.4 billion, apart the Senate has included $200 million in a separate bill for Albritton's 'Rural Renaissance' initiative, intended to boost economies in less developed sections of Florida. That means there's a $4.6 billion difference in proposed funding between the chambers. The spending gap must be bridged before legislators can begin fine-tuning the budget. Although legislators discuss hundreds of bills each session, the budget, known as the General Appropriations Act, is the only bill legislators are required to pass each year. Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment imposing a 72 hour 'cooling off period' on the budget with the goal of allowing members time to go through the document and read the fine print. The 72-hour requirement means that the spending plan must be printed and put on members desks by April 29 if they hope to adjourn on time on May 2. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
