Florida lawmakers set to vote on state budget Monday

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Six weeks after the 2025 Florida legislative session was supposed to end, lawmakers plan to vote Monday on the budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

By the numbers:

House and Senate leaders negotiated a spending plan totaling $115.1 billion, slightly lower than the $115.6 billion budget proposed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

PREVIOUS: Governor DeSantis unveils $115.6B proposed budget for 2025-26 fiscal year

The plan for the 2025-26 fiscal year includes cutting 1,700 vacant state government positions and a reduction in overall spending.

At least $750 million would be set aside for the state's rainy day fund in case of an economic recession.

RELATED: Florida legislative session going into overtime as lawmakers remain at odds over budget

Multiple tax reductions are also included, such as a $900 million cut by eliminating a tax on commercial leases, along with making the back-to-school sales tax holiday a permanent event each August.

Sales taxes would also be eliminated on certain items like hurricane supplies, sunscreen and life jackets.

Critics have several concerns about what's not in the budget, including a hurricane preparedness sales tax holiday. 

Democratic Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orange, also worries there isn't enough money for teacher raises or the Florida Forever program, which protects conservations lands from mass development.

Eskamani said funding for Florida Forever was lowered from about $100 million to $15 million.

Dig deeper:

Taxes were a big sticking point between the governor and legislative leaders this year, with DeSantis pushing for a property tax rebate ahead of proposing a constitutional amendment for 2026 that would reduce or eliminate property taxes.

RELATED: Governor DeSantis proposes eliminating property taxes in Florida

The proposed tax rebate is not included in the budget package released Friday, but lawmakers plan to set aside $1 million for the Legislature’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research to study property tax changes.

Also not included: House Speaker Daniel Perez's proposal for deeper sales tax cuts, totaling about $5 billion in savings for Floridians.

"The Senate felt like that a $5 billion, 4.5, whatever that number was – a recurring reduction was, understanding our outlook projections for general revenue, was something that we were not comfortable with," State Sen. Ed Hooper said. "And negotiations have been ongoing since day one about, ‘OK, where are we going to land?’ The tax issue and the product today is the product of that negotiation. I think we've been through every machination."

The other side:

State Democrats are critical that the budget doesn't do enough to help Florida families.

"It's not delivering direct relief to Florida families who really need it right now," said Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orange. "Housing affordability is a major crisis right now. Property insurance is out of control. And the reality is that this session did not deliver any of those problems."

"If those tax breaks give relief to corporations to allow them to grow and prosper in Florida, that is good for the employees, the Floridians that work for those companies," Republican Rep. Lawrence McClure, Chair of the Florida House Budget Committee, pushed back.

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What's next:

Monday's planned votes in the House and Senate come after a mandatory 72-hour "cooling off" period once a budget deal is reached in Florida.

Once the budget reaches the governor's desk, DeSantis has line item veto power with a July 1 deadline before the new fiscal year begins.

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