TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WLFA) — After a brief glimpse of progress, Florida state lawmakers say the legislature has returned to squares. House members met this week to extend the session until June 30th, until the eve of the new fiscal year beginning. But no state senators were found anywhere.
“Given the Senate’s recent actions, we hope we can resolve the fiscal negotiations sooner than later, but we cannot promise that this will happen by June 6th,” said House Speaker Daniel Perez (R-Miami).
On June 6th, Perez speaker and Senate President Ben Albritton (R-Wauchula) agreed to pass the final budget, but President Albritton switched gears and changed the meeting’s opening date.
Response speaker Perez revealed that the house is not planning a retreat.
“If the Senate plan is to wait for us, they’ll realize that we won’t move,” Perez said.
The Speaker spoke to House members after the Senate broke the deal and proposed multiple paths to passing the minimum spending “critical needs budget.”
So far, the Senate has been silent, and only issued a statement last week that it created a tax cut package that includes property tax cuts, with the goal of bringing problems to the 2026 poll.
“It is important to develop a long-term sustainable tax relief package and leave room for a balanced budget to consider meaningful property tax relief for the vote in the upcoming general election. We will continue to work towards a final budget and tax relief package supported by the Senate and governor.
Property tax relief, a top priority for Gov. Ron DeSantis, was at odds with the home leaders throughout the session.
“House leadership has taken the entire session out of course, not just the budget, but the budget. Let’s just be clear,” DeSantis said at a press conference Monday.
“The difference between a governor and a home is that the home is always willing to have a tough conversation. We are always willing to answer difficult questions. We are always willing to have discussions. The governor is not going to have a conversation.
With the budget still rising, House Democrats suggest this could be a long summer for state lawmakers.
“I think there’s a good chance that nothing will be accomplished and I think the speaker foresaw that they’re saying they’re offering a lot of plans, but the worst case scenario is that there’s a skeletal type of budget that funds important resources, and maybe there’s nothing else.”
There is a very realistic chance that lawmakers could be on the Capitol until June 30th, but a “no show” from the Senate could result in sessions being finished as planned by June 6th.
