TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida lawmakers are back in Tallahassee for a second special session, this time to complete the state’s only constitutionally required job: passing a budget before the new fiscal year begins July 1.
The House and Senate gaveled in on Tuesday with broad agreement on major spending areas, including health care, education, and transportation. But legislative leaders still have a major divide to close: a roughly $1.4 billion gap between the House’s lower-spending plan and the Senate’s higher number.
WATCH: Florida lawmakers return for budget special session with July 1 deadline looming
Over the next two weeks, lawmakers are expected to work through the fine print in budget conference meetings. That includes decisions on tax relief, local and regional projects, and other spending priorities that remain unresolved after the regular legislative session ended without a final budget.
Republicans said they are optimistic the Legislature can reach a deal before the July 1 deadline.
“I think now there is a view that we’re going to all lay our swords down, and we’re going to get a budget done, get the people’s business done,” said Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Pensacola.
Rep. Danny Nix, R-Port Charlotte, said the budget debate might be long, but he argued that lawmakers need to be deliberate.
“You know this process takes some time, especially when we’re fighting for a fair and balanced budget,” Nix said. “We need to make sure we get it right for Floridians.”
Democrats, meanwhile, criticized the delay and accused the Republican majority of failing to finish the budget during the regular 60-day session. House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, D-Tampa, said Floridians are paying the price for majority-party conflict.
“We should have completed this in the 60-day regular session,” Driskell said. “It’s a shame that the people of Florida are the victims of this, frankly, overreach and infighting and dysfunction within the majority party.”
Democrats also argued the Legislature missed opportunities to focus more directly on affordability. Senate Minority Leader Lori Berman, D-Boca Raton, urged lawmakers to consider repealing the state’s gas tax, saying it could provide meaningful relief to drivers.
“The average cost of a gallon of gas in the state of Florida is now $4.50, which is $1.50 more since last year at this time,” Berman said. “Our state gas sales tax is 25.3 cents per gallon. That will be significant relief.”
That proposal is unlikely to gain traction. Gov. Ron DeSantis has previously suggested consumers would not necessarily feel the savings from a repeal, pointing to past experience with similar tax changes.
For now, the focus shifts to budget conferences, where lawmakers will attempt to overcome the remaining differences and avoid the kind of standoff that last year brought Florida close to its first-ever government shutdown.
A final budget vote is expected sometime after Memorial Day weekend. Once the Legislature passes the spending plan, it will head to DeSantis, who can use his line-item veto power to strike individual projects or spending items before signing the budget into law.
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