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Budget talks moving slowly in Tallahassee

By
Updated  May 14, 2025 5:45pm EDT
Florida
FOX 13 News
State budget talks remain stalled

State budget talks remain stalled

FOX 13's Evan Axelbank reports.

The Brief

    • Tallahassee lawmakers are failing to come to an agreement on the type of tax cuts that Floridians should see.
    • The governor wants property tax rebates, while house members seem intent on pushing sales tax cuts.
    • The house speaker says he is confident they will reach a deal before a government shutdown kicks in, which would be midnight on July 1st.

TALLAHASSEE - Lawmakers are now in overtime after failing to agree on a budget plan during the regular session.

They're still butting heads, arguing over the type of tax cut that Floridians should see.

What they're saying:

"The Governor isn't willing to have a conversation, period," said House Speaker Daniel Perez. "There's no difference between him and any 7th grader in Miami-Dade County right now who tweets."

He told reporters in Tallahassee, after only spending less than a half hour in session, that the deal he had reached with the senate president on a sales tax cut of a quarter of a percent, had died.

Lawmakers are now in overtime after failing to agree on a budget plan during the regular session.

Last week, the governor said he wouldn't sign it.

Now, the senate president says it's no longer right for his chamber, infuriating the Speaker.

"In my community of Miami and my culture as a Cuban, your word is your bond, and that means everything."

The Speaker says new talks are moving at a "snail's pace."

The backstory:

The two sides are $4 billion apart over how to cut taxes.

The governor wants property tax rebates, while house members seem intent on pushing sales tax cuts.

The governor points out the share of sales taxes taken in from visitors to the state.

"No one is like organically clamoring to do one-quarter-of-a penny sales tax, that honestly benefits the tourists, which we shouldn't be doing," said Gov. Ron DeSantis. "I want more tax burden to be on the tourists and the snowbirds, and less on Floridians.

The house speaker says he is confident they will reach a deal before a government shutdown kicks in, which would be midnight on July 1st.

Lawmakers are now in overtime after failing to agree on a budget plan during the regular session.

That would risk the paychecks of state employees and work with contractors. Any budget work is now being done away from the cameras.

"I'm hearing rumors that there are offers that are being exchanged back and forth," said House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell. "So that lets me know that there probably conversations that are taking place."

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The governor has also ridiculed the house's new property tax commission, which he says has too many members and too many Democrats on it.

On Tuesday, they invited him to talk at one of their meetings to make his case for a property tax cut.

On Wednesday, he declined, saying that's not the role of the chief executive.

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The Source: Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13's Evan Axelbank.

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