State legislators left session in mid-March with no budget approved for the coming fiscal year. On May 12, members in the Florida House and Senate returned to the state capital to hash out $1 billion in spending differences between their proposals.
State Rep. Jim Mooney, who sits on the House Budget Committee, said members began a special session with committees meeting to work through discrepancies in spending on certain items. Before the legislature concluded a 60-day session in March, the House passed a proposed $113.6 budget. The Senate proposal was a little higher, $115 billion. Both spending plans were less than Gov. Ron DeSantis’ $117 budget proposal for the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1 and ends June 30, 2027.
While the special session is planned for 18 days, Mooney expects legislators to get the work done in three.
“I think we’re close. The big stuff has been hashed out,” he said. “We should be out by the end of the week and return after Memorial Day to satisfy the 72-hour cool-off period.”
A cool-off period is the time between the final budget’s release and the vote by the Legislature.
Mooney said he expects the budget will be leaner compared to previous legislatively-approved spending plans. All in all, he said the House and Senate will likely meet in the middle on the $1 billion spending difference.
House and Senate proposals include funding for institutions like the College of the Florida Keys for education and projects including the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority for a reverse osmosis facility on Crawl Key and the school district for an affordable workforce housing project on Trumbo Road in Key West.
There’s also $20 million in Florida Keys Stewardship Act funding, which supports water quality projects throughout the island chain. House and Senate proposals include the full funding amount requested by Keys officials.
Once approved, the budget will head to DeSantis’ desk for approval. He also has the ability to veto budget items.
This is the second straight year the Legislature failed to approve a budget before the end of the regular 60-day session.
