Florida’s legislative leadership has reached an agreement on the state’s budget over the weekend.
The decision brought clarity on several issues that the House and Senate had been fighting over.
The chambers agreed to keep the $4.5 billion in funding for homeschool and private school tuition inside the main funding formula for K thru 12 public schools. That’s after an audit in November got the Senate to push to change it.
Leadership also put forward over $500 million towards Everglades restoration projects, and $75 million to stabilize federal funding cuts to an HIV prescription program.
They also put forward an over $150-million-dollar tax cut package, although it does not include gas tax relief that Democrats had been pushing for.
As for state employees, across the board raises were not included this year. Only raises for state law enforcement and correctional officers were.
Florida Democrats are not happy with the budget. During a Tuesday press conference, House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell criticized the plan.
She said she doesn’t think the proposed spending plan goes far enough to address affordability issues in Florida.
“This budget does not give teachers the pay raise they deserve. It does not do enough for housing affordability. It provides no relief to homeowners who are struggling with the soaring property insurance rates. And despite our repeated calls upon the majority to do so, the tax package does not suspend the gas tax, which would provide Floridians with much needed relief in at the pump,” she said.
Driskell also has concerns about another issue Florida lawmakers will likely discuss over the next couple weeks: property tax reductions. She says potential cuts could leave rural areas vulnerable.
“In conversations with the local governments that I serve, I'm hearing that any cut, even though it might seem small in the grand scheme of things, could be devastating because there's no plan to make our local governments whole on the back end, and we also know that with respect to our rural counties and those that are fiscally constrained, reducing property taxes even by a little bit could completely decimate them and put those counties out of business,” she said.
Driskell’s party has little influence over either process. Republicans hold supermajorities in both chambers. And leadership in those chambers are supporting the plan.
Senate President Ben Albritton said it is the product of negotiations between his chamber, the House and the wishes of Governor Ron DeSantis. He said it strikes the right balance.
“Working together, we have crafted a balanced budget the people of Florida can be proud of. The best thing we can do to keep Florida affordable is to keep taxes low, limiting the financial burden taxes and regulations place on Florida’s families and businesses. To keep taxes low, state government has to live within its means, pay down debt, and save for the future,” he said.
The budget will be voted on by both the House and the Senate on Friday.