House Speaker Daniel Perez says it’s “looking tough” for Florida lawmakers to complete a budget by the end of next week, the scheduled end of the legislative session.
“We're still having conversations in the hopes of eventually getting closer,” Perez said on Wednesday afternoon. “We have a fundamental disagreement on what the budget should look like.”
The Senate’s proposal is around $115 billion, which is nearly $1.5 billion more than what the House wants.
“I don't think that I'm very flexible on wanting to spend more money,” he said. “And it's not just about the overall number. I think it's also about how it's spent. But we aren't even at that part of the conversation yet.”
He continued: “We aren't talking about specific allocations. We're talking about the bigger number, and that's something that, although we are still conversing, it is a very light and short conversation that I wish would move faster.”
Last year, lawmakers extended the session by a month and a half to figure out a budget and tax package. If the budget’s not done on time again, legislative leadership could also decide to call a special session for the budget.
“A decision has not been made,” Perez said.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has already called a late April special session for potential redistricting.
The only thing the state Constitution requires lawmakers to do each year is pass a budget. If the budget isn't law by July 1, the state government enters into a partial shutdown, which has never happened.
If you have any questions about state government or the legislative process, you can ask the Your Florida team by clicking here.
This story was produced by WUSF as part of a statewide journalism initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
