Florida lawmakers at an impasse — legislative session will not end as scheduled next week

Florida Senate President Ben Albritton dropped the news Thursday afternoon that the 60-day legislative session will not as end as scheduled at the end of next week.

That’s due to an impasse between the House and Senate’s respectively passed budgets, specifically regarding their competing sales tax packages.

“At this time, I am disappointed to report we have not yet reached an agreement on allocations with the House,” Albritton told senators shortly after 2 p.m., when he acknowledged that the biggest hurdle remains the discrepancy between what type of package to present and how significant those tax cuts would be.

There is roughly a $4.4 billion gap between the proposed budgets of the two chambers.  The Senate’s proposed budget appropriates $117.36 billion, while the House’s proposal totals $112.95 billion.

House Speaker Daniel Perez announced last month a state sales tax rate cut from 6% to 5.25%, which would save taxpayers’ approximately $5 billion annually.

Albritton followed up with a more modest $2.1 billion tax plan, centered around a permanent elimination of the sales tax on clothing and shoes costing $75 or less. Other parts of the plan included a permanent reduction in the business rent tax from 2% to 1%, a one-time credit for vehicle registration fees, and several sales tax holidays.

His proposal included authorizing an analysis of the potential effects of eliminating property taxes, a proposal first floated by Gov. DeSantis, with the possibility of putting that idea before the voters via a constitutional amendment in 2026

Albritton said Thursday that his preference remains to focus “on a responsible level of targeted, broad-based sales tax relief this session, leaving room for voters to consider a more comprehensive reduction in property taxes at the next general election.”

He said that he and Senate Appropriations Chair Ed Hooper had spent “countless hours” with staff considering the House’s sales tax cut proposal and long-term budget assumptions “from every angle we can think of.”

“I understand their perspective and applaud their resolve to pursue better government, and I have immense respect for the Speaker and his entire team,” he said — adding, however that, “at the end of the day, I’m just uncomfortable with a proposal I believe will likely lead to shortfalls, if not substantial shortfalls, in the out-years.”

“Make no mistake about it, I am committed to passing historic, unprecedented tax relief. However, it won’t be at the expense of the long-term financial stability of our state.”

Albritton did say that the Senate is moving with alacrity when it comes to passing legislation — so much so that he was cancelling Friday’s scheduled floor session. He ended his briefing by saying that legislators “can head home for the weekend,” leading to a standing ovation from the senators in the chamber.

Shortly after Albritton spoke, Perez then addressed his members in the House chamber. He said he had approached the conversations “in good faith,” and with the understanding that negotiation was necessary. He then criticized the Senate, which he said during negotiations has not dropped its proposed budget closer to the House proposal, while the House has moved $1 billion closer to the Senate.

“The Senate’s expectation seems to be that the House should adopt the Senate budget with only slight modifications. That position is not only unacceptable but it is patronizing,” Perez added.

The  Legislature is constitutionally required to pass a balanced state budget before the  2025-2026 fiscal year starts on July 1. The 60-day legislative session was scheduled to end on Friday, May 2. There have been no additional details whether the Legislature will continue to immediately work past that date, or opt to return later in May or June.

With additional reporting by Jay Waagmeester. This story has been updated to include Perez comments.