TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — After more than two and a half months of overtime work, Florida lawmakers on Friday passed a $114.5 billion state budget, sending the spending plan to Gov. Ron DeSantis for review.
Republicans who control the Legislature called the plan responsible and balanced, saying it trims overall state spending while still increasing money for schools, public safety, environmental projects and tax relief.
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“I’m so excited that we took the extra time, because at the end of the day, a great budget was put out for Florida,” said Rep. Danny Nix, R-Port Charlotte.
Rep. Danny Alvarez, R-Hillsborough County, said the spending plan shows Republicans are following through on promises to reduce spending.
“I think it's fair to call this budget a solution,” Alvarez said. “What we've delivered is a balanced budget, right? That continues to cut as Republicans promise.”
The budget includes tax breaks tied to hurricane home-hardening, casinos and gun accessories. Rep. Dean Black, R-Jacksonville, defended the gun-related tax relief.
“Look, we should support Floridians' right to be able to defend and protect their homes,” Black said. “There's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing to be ashamed of. We should be proud of that.”
But Democrats argued the final plan does not do enough to address affordability problems facing Floridians.
“We've been here a long time, could have done better work than what we did,” said Sen. Tracie Davis, D-Jacksonville.
House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell said the budget falls short on the affordability measures her caucus wanted to see.
“My theme for this budget overall is that it's inadequate,” Driskell said.
Democrats said the plan lacks enough relief for medical expenses, affordable housing, gas prices and teacher pay. They also criticized the tax package for prioritizing items they said are not top concerns for working families.
“We have relief on taxes on silencers, taxes on weapons, taxes on all of the gun accessories,” said Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando. “That is not what they asked for. They need relief from gas taxes, not gun taxes.”
The budget now heads to DeSantis, who has line-item veto power and is expected to spend the coming weeks reviewing the plan before signing it ahead of the July 1 deadline.
Lawmakers, meanwhile, are not done at the Capitol. They are expected to return next week for a special session on property taxes, where they will have three days to consider a proposed constitutional amendment for the November ballot that would begin phasing out property taxes for homesteaded property owners over the coming years.
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