TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) — As Florida sees the skies of hurricane season, another storm is brewing at the Capitol, lawmakers have yet to put forward budget plans, and the clock is ticking.
The state senators and representatives have returned to the district for about a month, and its members have great questions. What is the state budget?
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“They wonder when they’re going to complete the budget. There’s a lot more than I expected,” said Sen. Nick Diceglie of R-Indian Rocks Beach.
In the weeks before the new fiscal year began, the eight of them spoke with several local leaders in the Bay Area to reach the bottom of their budgetary battle.
“There’s a lot of stuff I guaranteed them. #1 means there’s a state budget,” said Berny Jacques, state representative for R-Seminole. “There is no state government closure. They can bring it to the bank. Secondly, we make sure we know we’re going to cut wasteful spending in the state government. It can’t be negotiated. There’s a wasteful spending reduction.
“We expect to complete this budget by June 30th,” said Sen. Diceglie of R-Indian Rocks Beach. “We’ll eventually put our heads together, haveh this, get an agreement and pass on a budget that we all think will be extremely proud of.”
“Work is still in progress,” said Adam Anderson, the state representative for R-Palm Harbor. “We still need to get the budget done. That’s something constitutionally necessary when Congress meets, and we’re still working on it. It’s a process that involves a bit of a transition from where we were in the past.”
So, what is the hold-up? According to lawmakers, it is a tax reform package.
“We’re trying to determine a tax package,” Diseglie said. “And there’s a sales tax element. There’s a sales tax vacation, which is the element.”
Diseglie said he wanted to tackle the issue carefully and make sure there will be no future councils in the future in two or three years.
House members agree, hoping this time they can change the narrative of past sessions, saying it won’t be just for years to come.
“Whenever you experience changes from what the situation is, sometimes it can look a little messy from the outside, but everyone is on the same page so that they can reach the point of arrival,” Anderson said. “There may be some differences in opinion about how we get there, but those things have been washed away and the conversation is ongoing.”
The governor continues to flag major issues with budget delays, saying budget delays have affected his hometown Floridian since receiving sales tax relief, including second amended tax leave, hurricane prep sales holidays and bowler fuel sales tax.
“You only have one job, one real job in Congress. That’s about spending and budgeting,” Desantis said.
The House of Representatives extended the budget deadline until June 6th. This is only a week away.
So can they pass the budget before that? Some lawmakers are less hopeful and are waiting for the governor to intervene.
