(The Center Square) – Florida lawmakers are scheduled to vote on the state’s budget Monday night, convening at 7 p.m. and taking up the appropriations at 10 p.m.
The reason for the delay is the constitutionally-mandated 72-hours between budget drafting and a vote, known as the cooling off period. With the state’s budget deal reached at 10 p.m. on Friday by the conference committee, that is the soonest that a vote can be held.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is in France at the Paris Air Show, will have two weeks to sign the budget, which was wrapped up just weeks before the start of the state’s new fiscal year on July 1.
The budget will have about $119.8 billion or so in total funds, with nearly $50 billion or so in general funds and the rest either federal funds (with Medicaid matching funds a big chunk) or special funds such as the Florida Lottery.
While appropriators held the line on the budget’s top line, discretionary money for projects such as museum, cultural centers and community groups continue to be a big outlay. This year, 280 projects will receive $560 million, down from 2024 when $1.3 billion was appropriated, but far more than 2019, when only $174 million was spent.
Under the state’s constitution, DeSantis has the ability to line-item veto appropriations. Last year, he vetoed $946 million in projects.
The state will also spend $460.7 million on water-related projects, a considerable jump from the House’s offer of $192 million. The state will also spend $200 million on conservation easements.
Lawmakers will also vote on a bill to increase the state’s Budget Stabilization Fund and another related to the computation and management of the state’s debt.
Tax relief in the budget package includes the elimination of the business rent tax ($900 million) and permanent sales tax exemptions that leaders say are targeted to Florida families ($350 million). The deal also includes $250 million in debt reduction.
Lawmakers adjourned on May 23 without a budget after 90 days of work in Tallahassee and had to reconvene in special session to come to a deal after a tentative agreement fell apart.
