Lawmakers will return to Tallahassee in April to wrap up the budget, a process that ordinarily would have been resolved by the end of the Regular Session.
During a news conference, Gov. Ron DeSantis said legislators would be back in the Capitol to resolve the $1.4 billion divide between the House’s $113.6 billion budget and the Senate’s plan totaling $115 billion.
Much of the issue comes down to sprinkle list items Senate President Ben Albritton wants that are tougher sells in the House.
Albritton said Senators would “return to Tallahassee for a Special Session on the budget … following the Easter and Passover holidays.” House Speaker Daniel Perez said he anticipated a mid-April reconvening.
DeSantis didn’t bother speaking with Perez, but said he and Albritton agreed that “this is not something that should be drug out.”
“This is something they just need to get it done,” DeSantis said, suggesting legislators could simply “cut and paste” previous budgets, and it’s not “rocket science” in terms of difficulty.
“It’s not going to be something that is going to be dragged out through June,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis wants the House to fund Schools of Hope, Everglades Restoration, and the Florida State Guard, but without negotiating with the House, it may be difficult to get movement.
He also suggested that the call for a Special Session could be extended to include policy issues such as Medical Freedom and the AI Bill of Rights, Senate priorities not considered in the House.
Lawmakers will have to reach agreements swiftly upon returning to the Capitol; another Special Session on congressional redistricting is set for the week of April 20.
Additionally, he said another Special Session is imminent for a ballot measure to eliminate “property tax for homestead residents” that was something that “he did not want to push in the Regular Session.”