2026 Legislative Session

Lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a $114.5 billion spending plan Friday, wrapping up a special session to complete the budget more than two months after they failed to do so during the regular session. The Senate voted unanimously in favor of the budget and the House voted 99-6 for the plan, but the vast support for the measure belied the tense process to produce it.

House and Senate budget negotiators managing environmental and agricultural issues approached the special session's first deadline with funding gaps still outstanding in areas involving citrus research, land preservation and Everglades restoration. Unresolved issues are to be turned over to the budget leaders Friday afternoon.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has grown frustrated at pieces of his agenda being thwarted by the GOP-led House, and lashed out at Speaker Daniel Perez on Thursday.

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law on Monday a new congressional map, reworking 21 of Florida’s 28 U.S. House districts. While Districts 1-7 are unchanged, many of the others are significantly altered, some in ways that will leave incumbents and potential candidates scrambling to see in which district they’ll run ahead of the qualifying week that starts June 8.

In 2022, Florida lawmakers fought the executive branch to keep their redistricting authority. Four years later, they approved maps released first to Fox News

Republicans have scored another victory in the nationwide redistricting battle. The Florida Legislature approved a new congressional map on Wednesday intended to help the party gain four seats.

Two key priorities of Gov. Ron DeSantis that failed to advance in the regular legislative session were discarded as the House opened a special session on Tuesday. House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, said the House remains “fairly clear on our position” against the proposals to expand vaccine exemptions for public K-12 students (SB 6D) and to protect consumers’ interactions with artificial intelligence (SB 2D and SB 4D).

Florida’s Legislature is set to consider a new congressional map starting Tuesday in Tallahassee, inserting the state in President Donald Trump’s tit-for-tat effort to maintain Republican control of Congress after November’s elections.

The session has ended — without a budget. From DEI bans to new voter verification requirements, here are some of the bigger bills that passed and failed, and what lawmakers will tackle in special sessions.