Florida lawmakers won’t return to the Capitol this week, as the budget impasse inches closer to a shutdown deadline.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida lawmakers will remain away from the Capitol this week, further intensifying a budget impasse that could potentially bring the state closer to its inaugural government shutdown.
The postponement comes after budget discussions between leaders in the House and Senate fell apart. Earlier this month, House Speaker Daniel Perez (R-Miami) informed lawmakers through a memo that the structure of the spending plan had “blown up,” just a week after its initial announcement.
“I was disappointed when the Senate President informed me of his decision to no longer bring the House’s historic tax proposal to the Senate floor,” Perez stated. “This unraveled the framework for the budget deal we had negotiated.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis has also played a role in the impasse, publicly threatening to veto the House’s plan to slash state sales tax—calling it “dead on arrival.” Instead, DeSantis has continued pushing for property tax relief, saying a sales tax cut would benefit tourists more than Florida families.
“We want to focus our tax reduction efforts on what will make the biggest impact for Florida families, for our senior citizens, for people that are working hard and trying to make ends meet,” DeSantis said during a recent stop in Tampa.
The governor’s comments, combined with mounting disagreements between chambers, have left the legislative session originally scheduled to end nearly a month ago, in limbo. Lawmakers now won’t reconvene in Tallahassee before June 2nd at the earliest, according to the latest memo from leaders.
“It is important to me that we develop a tax relief package that is sustainable for the long term and leaves room in our balanced budget for the voters to consider meaningful property tax relief on the ballot at the next general election,” Albritton wrote earlier this month.
Despite the disagreements, Tallahassee leaders insist they’ll eventually reach a deal. But the clock is ticking.
The legislature has until June 30 to send a finalized budget to the governor’s desk for signature to avoid a shutdown, before the next fiscal year begins on July 1.
It’s a bit of uncharted waters in the Sunshine State. Reasonably, similar to a federal shutdown, a state shutdown could halt non-essential government services, delay paychecks for state employees, and/or temporarily close things like state parks.
“I can’t imagine it would come to that,” DeSantis remarked during a stop in Tampa two weeks ago, when asked about the potential of a shutdown.
“Will we come to an agreement eventually? Yes,” Perez said in an interview with 10 Tampa Bay earlier this month. “But the House will stand firm in trying to hold tight on what we believe in, fiscal conservatism.”
The last time Florida came close to a shutdown was in 1992, when lawmakers passed a budget just one day before the new fiscal year.
