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

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Published  May 2, 2025 6:43am EDT
Florida
FOX 13 News
Florida lawmakers extend legislative session

Florida lawmakers extend legislative session

The Florida Legislature was initially scheduled to end its annual session on Friday, but there are still key issues – including the state budget – on the table. FOX 13’s Kailey Tracy reports.

The Brief

    • Florida's annual legislative session will be extended beyond its typical 60-day period.
    • The House and Senate are about $4 billion apart on the budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
    • Lawmakers are off next week, so budget negotiations won’t start until around mid-May.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Florida Legislature was scheduled to wrap its 60-day regular session Friday, but they’re headed into overtime because the House and the Senate haven’t agreed on a state budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

By the numbers:

State lawmakers are constitutionally required to pass a state budget before July 1, the start of the state’s fiscal year. Right now, though, there’s about a $4 billion gap between the House and Senate’s proposed budgets passed last month.

The House’s proposal is almost $113 billion, while the Senate’s was about $117 billion. The House’s proposed tax package includes cuts from a plan to permanently lower the state’s sales-tax rate from 6 percent to 5.25 percent.

PREVIOUS: Governor DeSantis, Florida House speaker at odds over tax cut proposals

The Senate’s tax-cut package includes cutting sales taxes on clothes and shoes that cost $75 or less.

"We continue to have productive conversations with the House," Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, said. "We're putting together a framework for a budget, and I'm optimistic that we'll have more news to share very soon."

Dig deeper:

As of Thursday afternoon, lawmakers hadn’t yet agreed on allocations, which are overall dollar amounts for different areas of spending like education, health care, law enforcement and more. When that’s decided on, conference committees can negotiate details of the budget.

Gov. Ron DeSantis blames the prolonged budget talks on the House. He has clashed with House Speaker Daniel Perez on several issues. DeSantis described the House’s approach to the budget as "based upon personal agendas" and "petty." He said the Senate’s is "mature" and "professional."

RELATED: DeSantis calls out Florida House budget aimed at cutting law enforcement positions

What's next:

Lawmakers are off next week, so budget negotiations won’t start until around the middle of the month.

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