![\"Florida](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/MIA_9_Florida_Legislation_Session_2026_MJO.JPG\" "\\"Florida")
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has said he wants lawmakers back in Tallahassee in July or August for a special session on property taxes.<\/p>\n
Photo by Matias J. Ocner<\/p>\n
mocner@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n
TALLAHASSEE<\/p>\n
For the second year in a row, lawmakers ended the 60-day legislative session Friday without doing<\/a> the one thing they had to do: pass a budget.<\/p>\n No matter. They\u2019ll be back in Tallahassee soon enough.<\/p>\n Lawmakers have a busy schedule planned for the next few months. Here\u2019s what they\u2019re up to:<\/p>\n Budget special session: \u2018Mid-April\u2019<\/p>\n Last week, the House speaker and Senate president said lawmakers will return to the capital to pass a budget sometime in mid-April.<\/p>\n In the meantime, the two leaders will work out the \u201cfundamental disagreement\u201d<\/a> they have for the state\u2019s spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year.<\/p>\n In short, the House doesn\u2019t want to spend as much as the Senate does, including on priorities<\/a> that Gov. Ron DeSantis wants, such as $34 million for the Florida State Guard.<\/p>\n Senate President Ben Albritton noted Friday that lawmakers have until July 1, when the next fiscal year starts, to come to an agreement.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s still plenty of time to be able to get the budget accomplished,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The budget negotiations process \u2014 as well as a required three-day cooling-off period before the budget can be voted on \u2014 will likely take more than a week. That could spill into another special session slated for April.<\/p>\n Redistricting special session: April 20<\/p>\n The fact that lawmakers knew they would be returning to Tallahassee in April took some pressure off to wrap up the budget.<\/p>\n In January, DeSantis ordered a special session<\/a> for the week of April 20 to redraw Florida\u2019s congressional map.<\/p>\n DeSantis made the request after President Donald Trump asked states to overhaul their maps to favor Republicans ahead of the midterms. Generally, redistricting occurs once a decade following updated U.S. Census numbers; Florida last redrew its congressional map in 2022.<\/p>\n DeSantis said he issued the call preemptively, expecting the U.S. Supreme Court to issue a ruling reinterpreting how districts can be redrawn under the Voting Rights Act.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no guarantee the court will rule by April 20 \u2014 or even rule in Republicans\u2019 favor.<\/p>\n Whether lawmakers would agree to redraw the map is another question. House Speaker Daniel Perez convened a special committee on redistricting this year, but the Senate has done nothing on the issue so far.<\/p>\n \u201cNeither outside counsel, nor staff have been directed by the President to conduct any work related to the Special Session at this time,\u201d Senate spokesperson Katie Betta said in an email Tuesday.<\/p>\n If lawmakers do redraw the map, it could give Republicans even more of an advantage.<\/p>\n Although Republicans make up 41% of active registered voters in Florida, they hold 20 of 28 congressional seats, or 71%. Analysts have said<\/a> Republicans could pick up as many as five more seats under a new map, giving them 89% of the seats.<\/p>\n Some Republicans, however, have expressed caution about watering down districts heading into an election cycle that is historically bad for the party in the White House.<\/p>\n Property tax special session: TBD<\/p>\n Lawmakers also left Tallahassee without approving a constitutional amendment to eliminate or reduce property taxes.<\/p>\n They are under no requirement to do so, but DeSantis has been promising to add one to the November ballot for more than a year.<\/p>\n The House passed one idea this session<\/a>: phasing out all non-education property taxes on primary homes. The Senate did not take it up.<\/p>\n Senate President Ben Albritton said Friday that he was talking with DeSantis about property tax ideas but said he didn\u2019t know when lawmakers will take it up.<\/p>\n \u201cNothing\u2019s been decided, and I have not committed to anything with the governor,\u201d he said Friday.<\/p>\n DeSantis has said he wants to call a special session to pass something in July or August, during Republican primary season. That way, it would put pressure on Republican lawmakers who may not like whatever the governor proposes.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen they know the voters are watching, they tend to govern themselves accordingly,\u201d DeSantis said in October.<\/p>\n The deadline<\/a> under the Florida Constitution to propose an amendment is more than 90 days before the election, or by Aug. 4 this year.<\/p>\n DeSantis hasn\u2019t given any specifics about what he would propose, beyond simply eliminating property taxes on homesteaded properties.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve only just begun on this,\u201d he said Friday.<\/p>\n A \u2018medical freedom\u2019 special session: ?<\/p>\n This is unlikely, but DeSantis suggested on Friday the possibility of having lawmakers come back to pass a bill removing all vaccine mandates<\/a> from state law.<\/p>\n