Florida lawmakers had a bitter, raucous session — and they’ll run it back soon

Legislators wrapped up the regular session without passing a new state budget. But shortly before midnight, they voted to extend the session until June 6 with promises to return later in May to craft a new spending plan. The session will be limited to budget-related bills, a tax cut package and the “rural renaissance” economic development proposal — a top priority of state Senate President Ben Albritton.

“There’s no question we have more work to do,” Albritton said.

State House Speaker Daniel Perez and Albritton also announced they had reached a deal to cut taxes by $2.8 billion, including a sizable permanent reduction in the state’s sales tax rate as part of a top-line deal on the budget. Perez said the deal means the budget will be smaller than the one initially proposed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“We are on the verge of making history together,” Perez told House members.

The announcement came at the tail end of a topsy-turvy day that lacked the pomp and circumstance that usually accompanies a session ending, including congratulatory press conferences and the anticipated traditional dropping of white handkerchiefs.

“It’s been a session of missed opportunities,” said state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia (R-Spring Hill), an ally of DeSantis who saw many of his bills fail to cross the finish line.

In their final week, lawmakers did agree to ease the financial burdens of condominium owners and impose strict new restrictions on ballot initiatives — both top priorities of DeSantis.

But lots of other legislation fell by the wayside in recent days and weeks, including bills dealing with property insurance and education and hotly debated measures dealing with the minimum wage and loosening child labor laws.

The session was a complete turnaround from recent years, when DeSantis muscled through a meaty agenda of conservative policy that he cited frequently during his unsuccessful run for president.

DeSantis fiercely denounced state House Republicans repeatedly over the past two months and accused them of working with Democrats to undermine him and his agenda.

“I think the House position has been ‘Well, the governor had gotten everything he wants so whatever he’s for — we’re against,’” DeSantis said earlier this week during a press conference.

The governor has faulted the House over everything from its proposed budget on the Everglades and law enforcement to pushing bills he said were designed to help “liberal trial lawyers.” He also criticized them for pushing for sales tax cuts he said would help tourists instead of considering proposals to reduce property taxes.

But the House also drew the governor’s ire over its investigation of Hope Florida, an initiative spearheaded by first lady Casey DeSantis, and a nonprofit organization linked to the effort. The House probed how $10 million from a settlement between the state and a Medicaid vendor wound up going to the Hope Florida Foundation, which turned around and steered the money to two groups that sent funds to a political committee fighting a ballot initiative on marijuana.

Perez has responded by calling DeSantis “emotional,” while state Rep. Alex Andrade (R-Pensacola), who led the committee behind the probe, has urged federal and state authorities to investigate further.

Amid the increasingly bitter feud between Perez and DeSantis, the House and Senate had been unable to reach an agreement on top-level spending levels and tax cuts. Perez had pitched a $5 billion permanent cut in sales taxes, while Albritton had urged a more cautious approach and advocated a smaller blend of permanent and one-time cuts.

As the budget stalemate had dragged out, tension levels among the two chambers ratcheted up in recent days. When the House refused to go along with setting up a substance abuse research center at the University of South Florida and naming it after Sen. Darryl Rouson, state Senate Democrats and Republicans alike grew irate.

Perez angrily responded by accusing the Senate of trying to slip in a “backdoor appropriations project” and “emotionally blackmailing the House into doing what they want.” On Friday, the Senate agreed to drop the matter.

Legislators spent most of their final day in recess, wondering if there would be at least an agreement reached on when the Legislature would return to handle a new budget. At one point, state Sen. Jennifer Bradley (R-Fleming Island) was overheard saying, “It’s like the House and Senate don’t know how to break up with each other.”

“I’ve never seen a session like this where we’ve not been able to finish on time, or reasonably on time, and get a budget done,” said state Rep. Fentrice Driskell, the House Democratic Leader. “And I think this is a session where politics got in the way of progress. I mean, it’s to the point where bills are dying, where you see basically messages being communicated between the two chambers and the governors using press releases, social media, you know, and news interviews. So, you know, at times it doesn’t even seem like everybody is talking or on the same page.”

Isa Dominguez contributed to this report.

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/02/florida-legislature-session-end-no-budget-desantis-00324510