Florida budget deal collapses amid GOP infighting and Governor’s opposition

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A tentative budget framework lawmakers hailed just last week is now officially dead, throwing the Florida Legislature into chaos and putting the state at serious risk of missing its July 1 deadline to pass a budget.

What had been a carefully crafted compromise between the House and Senate, totaling $2.8 billion in tax relief, with $2.5 billion in recurring cuts largely from sales tax reductions, was dismantled Friday, largely due to Governor Ron DeSantis’ veto threats and opposition to the plan.

Watch full report from Forrest Saunders

Florida budget deal collapses amid GOP infighting and Governor’s opposition

“Good things come to those that wait,” House Speaker Danny Perez said last week. But now, after negotiations fell apart, waiting is the only option left.

“I’m disappointed. I’m disappointed that when the Senate president gave me his word that we had a deal, gave his chamber a word, is the word that we had a deal— I’m disappointed, that now that word has no value,” Perez said in frustration following the deal’s collapse.

DeSantis, who has been promoting his own $5 billion property tax rebate package that would issue $1,000 checks to homesteaders, made it clear Wednesday that the Legislature’s plan was “dead on arrival.”

“For whatever reason, these guys, you know, in the leadership, in the House, they just decided, you know, that they’re going to, you know, try to pursue this really, I think it’s like a foreign agenda to Florida in terms of Republicans and what we’ve done,” the governor said Friday. “This is not anything that people have been talking about.”

 In response, House leadership defended their approach as more fiscally sound.

“What the governor wanted were a non-recurring $1,000 check that would go to Floridians that have homestead properties that is not going to cut wasteful spending, that is going to increase spending, and that is not a recurring tax cut either… So we will continue to argue on behalf of Floridians and cut wasteful spending,” Perez said.

Senate President Ben Albritton issued a memo explaining the breakdown, citing DeSantis’ opposition and concerns among senators about long-term sustainability and whether the proposed tax cuts would even be felt by Floridians.

“It is important to me that we develop a tax relief package that is sustainable for the long term and leaves room in our balanced budget for the voters to consider meaningful property tax relief on the ballot at the next general election,” Albritton wrote.

Florida Democrats have seized on the dysfunction, accusing Republicans of failing their constitutional duties.

“They’re all over the place, and they’re not unified,” said Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried told us Thursday, before news of the collapsed deal surfaced.“They’re more concerned about vengeance of throwing bombs than doing what they’re supposed to do. When they come up to Tallahassee, they’ve got one job. They got one job, and that’s to pass a budget.”

The House plans to reconvene next week and extend the session through June 30, while the Senate has shown no indication of joining them.

To salvage the process, the Republican Party of Florida is proposing a summit between legislative leaders and the governor.

“Our Republican leaders are deeply committed to this state and have bold ideas to keep Florida thriving,” said RPOF Chairman Evan Power. “Bringing everyone to the table will help us focus on our shared priorities—fiscal responsibility, tax relief, and a balanced budget. Uniting us to deliver for the future of Florida.”

For now, however, the budget path remains unclear, and the state is inching closer to a constitutional crisis over its spending plan.