ORLANDO, Fla. – Lawmakers in Tallahassee will not be able to get a budget passed before the regularly planned end of the annual legislative session, with House and Senate leaders remaining at loggerheads over tax cuts.
The Florida Legislative Session is supposed to end on May 2, but Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, and House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, told lawmakers Thursday that leaders have not even been able to agree on key steps in order to start formal budget negotiations.
Lawmakers need to have a budget drawn up by next Tuesday, so that lawmakers get the mandatory 72-hour “cooling off” period before passing the budget. Albritton and Perez say they won’t make that deadline.
It’s not clear yet whether the annual session will be extended passed Friday, May 2, or if lawmakers will be brought back later in a special session.
The difference between the House and Senate budget proposals is more than $4 billion — the House proposal is $112.95 billion, while the Senate plan is $117.36 billion.
The biggest sticking point appears to be over how the state budget will cut taxes.
The Senate proposal (SB 7034) would cost $1.3 billion in recurring tax cuts and another $1.5 billion in one-time cuts. That package eliminates sales taxes on closing and shoes that cost $75 or less, has a series of sales tax holidays and provides a one-time credit on annual vehicle registration fees.
The Florida House proposal (HB 7033) would cost $5 billion and largely stem from a permanent reduction in the state’s sales tax from 6% to 5.25%.
The State House wants to make other changes to taxes in Florida, and Gov. Ron DeSantis is opposing one change in particular.
Watch News 6’s exclusive interview with Gov. DeSantis below.
The change comes in the form of HB 5501. The bill changes how the state allocates money collected through the documentary stamp tax, which is applied to real estate transactions like property deeds.
Right now, that money goes to trust funds dedicated to projects for things like affordable housing and transportation.
However, if HB 5501 passes, part of that money will instead go into the state’s general revenue fund, which pays for regular state services.
In an exclusive interview with News 6’s Laverne McGee on Wednesday, DeSantis said the change could significantly impact transportation and affordable housing projects in Central Florida.
“That money funds a lot of key projects, including projects in Central Florida. It’s funding a lot of the projects on the Space Coast,” DeSantis said. “When that money’s there, they can then draw down additional money. So that would short-circuit a lot of projects in Central Florida that have had wide support. I don’t know why they’re doing that.”
According to a legislative budget analysis, HB 5501 reinstates a service charge that would redirect $150 million meant for the State Housing Trust Fund to general revenue.
The changes the bill makes to revenue for the state transportation trust fund would cost the fund as much as $466.75 million.
DeSantis says that ongoing projects would not be impacted, like the soon-to-be completed lane additions to I-4 in the Championsgate area. Those lanes are expected to open before the end of the month and may provide much-needed traffic relief.
“That I-4 expansion, when done, is going to be good. And there have been a lot of other projects in Polk County where we’ve accelerated road projects,” DeSantis noted.
If HB 5501 is passed, however, it would impact future projects that DeSantis says will be needed as tourism continues to grow in Central Florida.
“We’re going to have kind of the next chapter in Central Florida tourism next month when Epic Universe opens,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis can veto HB 5501 if the legislature sends it to his desk. Then the Florida Legislature could try to override his veto.
Meanwhile, the resolution of the documentary stamp issue and the overall budget must be finalized by July 1, marking the start of the new fiscal year for 2025-2026.
Information from News Service of Florida was used in this report.
