TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV\/Gray Florida Capital Bureau) – Florida lawmakers will not pass a state budget by Friday\u2019s scheduled end of the legislative session, House Speaker Daniel Perez confirmed, as the House and Senate remain $1.4 billion apart on their competing proposals.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is abundantly clear to all of you, we will not complete the 2026\u20132027 state budget by the end of this week,\u201d Perez said.<\/p>\n
For the budget to receive a final vote by Friday, it needed to be ready for passage by the end of Tuesday. The two chambers have not yet entered conference committee negotiations, which cannot begin until the $1.4 billion gap between their proposals is closed.<\/p>\n
Senate President Ben Albritton has not been available to the press. Appropriations Chair Ed Hooper said a week ago that the Senate had sent several offers to the House, each of which was rejected.<\/p>\n
Perez said the disagreement goes beyond the overall spending figure.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a fundamental disagreement on what the budget should look like,\u201d Perez said. \u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019m very flexible on spending more money. It\u2019s not just about the overall number. It\u2019s also about how it\u2019s spent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Florida Politics<\/p>\n
House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell blamed Republicans for the impasse, saying affordability issues are being left unresolved.<\/p>\n
\u201cRepublicans control the House, they control the Senate, they control the governor\u2019s office, and yet they can\u2019t stop fighting long enough to do anything serious to tackle the affordability crisis that Floridians are struggling with every day,\u201d Driskell said.<\/p>\n
Rep. Kelly Skidmore, D-Boca Raton, said the situation is unlike anything she has seen.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have one constitutional requirement, and that is to pass a balanced budget. And I know we\u2019ll get there. I just don\u2019t know when,\u201d Skidmore said.<\/p>\n
Last year\u2019s session was one of the longest in recent Florida history, lasting 105 days after multiple extensions. This year, lawmakers began the session in January, ahead of the July 1 start of the new fiscal year.<\/p>\n
Lawmakers are already scheduled to return to Tallahassee in April for a special session on congressional redistricting. It remains unclear whether budget negotiations could be added to that session.<\/p>\n
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