Budget

One of the more contentious legislative sessions in recent history came to a close late Monday as lawmakers approved a $115.1 billion budget for next fiscal year and prepared to send it to Gov. Ron DeSantis.

State budget talks won’t resume until after the Memorial Day holiday weekend, legislative leaders announced Thursday.In a memo to senators, Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, said that he and Senate Appropriations Chairman Ed Hooper, R-Trinity, “have continued to have productive discussions with our partners in the House on joint budget allocations.”Allocations are overall amounts of money that would be divided in different areas of the budget, such as education, health and transportation, and need to be set before conference committees can begin formally negotiating details of the state spending plan.

As budget talks remain stalled, House Speaker Daniel Perez said Tuesday the House has offered possibilities including a “lean, critical-needs budget with minimal spending and no tax cuts.”But in a quest to lower state spending, the Miami Republican described a proposal by Gov. Ron DeSantis to send $1,000 checks to homeowners as an “irresponsible idea.”

Legislative budget talks blew up Friday, as the House, the Senate and Gov. Ron DeSantis tangle over tax cuts.House Speaker Daniel Perez accused Senate President Ben Albritton of backing out of a “historic tax proposal” that the leaders outlined last week as they extended the annual legislative session to reach a budget deal. DeSantis, who wants to reduce property taxes, threatened this week to veto Perez’ priority of cutting sales taxes.

Legislative leaders have not reached agreement on key initial budget details, as lawmakers prepare to return to the Capitol to hammer out a spending plan for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, which will begin July 1. The House and Senate did not pass a budget before Friday’s scheduled end of the annual legislative session, requiring an extension.

The School Board of Lee County has voted to change the job descriptions of several key positions. The action begins a restructuring of some district operations. The decision came despite opposition from some members of the public, district employees and one member of the board.The board also voted to implement the Safe Start Initiative, which would change school start times district-wide for the 2025-2026 school year. The initiative passed with a 7-0 vote.

Gov. Ron DeSantis late Sunday proposed a $115.6 billion budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year that calls for increasing pay for state law-enforcement officers and firefighters, eliminating a commercial-lease tax and holding a new sales-tax “holiday” on guns and ammunition.The proposal is an initial step as lawmakers prepare to negotiate a final budget during the regular legislative session, which will start March 4. It also was released as DeSantis quarrels with House and Senate leaders over an immigration bill that lawmakers passed during a special session last week.

State economists on Wednesday increased general-revenue projections by a total of about $2 billion for the current fiscal year and next year, giving a boost to lawmakers as they start preparing to draw up a budget during the 2025 legislative session.A panel of economists known as the Revenue Estimating Conference said about half of the projected increase is tied to anticipated earnings on historically high state investments receiving favorable interest rates.

Among the budget spending vetoed by DeSantis was $11.6 million for renovations to Florida Gulf Coast University’s Reed Hall classroom building.Also among the vetoes was $80 million for the Florida College System to participate in the state group insurance program, which provides health insurance to state workers.Among big-ticket items approved by the governor, the budget includes $14.5 billion for the state transportation work program and $232 million for cancer-research funding, including $127.5 million for the Casey DeSantis Cancer Research Program.Also included in the state budget is $15.547 million for Fort Myers Beach for a new Town Hall site and revenue replacement.