TALHASSEE – Nearly a month after leaving the Capitol without passing the budget, House and Senate leaders said Friday night that they had reached an agreement to clarify how they would begin slamming details about their spending plans on Tuesday.
House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami and Senate Speaker Ben Albritton have released a memo hoping to pass the budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year on June 16th.
The deal includes a $900 million tax cut due to the elimination of taxes on commercial leases, a long-standing priority for business lobbyists. And what the memo described as $350 million for “permanent sales tax exemptions for Florida families,” includes $250 million for debt reductions and $750 million for annual payments in the state’s Rainy Day Fund.
“At the total, the frameworks listed in these allocations provide a financially responsible, balanced budget that reduces state spending, lowers per capita spending, and reduces national bureaucracy growth,” Albritton wrote in a memo to the senators. “The budget allows early payments of state debt, account for significant broad tax easing, and is based on historic national reserves for emergencies.”
The conference committee will begin meeting Tuesday and will negotiate details of various parts of the budget, including education, healthcare and criminal justice. The open issues will be made Thursday to make R-Dover’s Lawrence McClure budget president and RTT-TRINITY chair Ed Hooper become the House Speaker for further negotiations.
The fiscal year begins on July 1st. This would mean Governor Ron Desantis will use his Line Item veto for two weeks if the budget passes on June 16th.
The House and Senate were unable to reach an agreement within the budget by May 2, when the annual legislative meeting is scheduled for May due to differences in tax cuts and expenditure levels. Lawmakers extended the session, but the House and Senate leaders remained at odds as they worked behind the scenes.
In April, the House of Representatives approved a plan to reduce the state’s sales tax rate from 6% to 5.25%. This totaled around $5 billion. However, the Senate did not proceed and pitched plans that included sales tax exemptions for clothing and shoes under $75, sales tax “holidays” and commercial lease tax trimming.
Meanwhile, Desantis has criticized the House’s plans to cut property taxes and cut sales tax rates.
Perez and Albritton showed on May 2 that they had reached a “framework” that included a $2.8 billion tax cut, including a reduction in sales tax rates.
However, it exploded later, with Perez publicly accusing Albritton of retreating from the deal. But Albritton said the senator raised concerns that the sales tax rate reductions “doesn’t mean, felt or seen by families or seniors when compared to other available options.”
The memo, released Friday night, did not provide details about the $350 million sales tax exemption included in the latest contract. They also did not mention tax cuts on fixed assets.
Jim Sanders, Florida news service
