House Speaker Daniel Perez said out loud Monday what everyone inside the Capitol already knew: The Florida Legislature will reach the end of its regular session Friday without having a new state budget ready.
What the Republican legislative leader did not say is what will happen after the clock strikes midnight on the 60th day and whether legislators will just extend their session or shut everything down and come back later to pass a budget.
“We will update you when we have news to share,” Perez told House members.
Perez’ comments contrast with the Senate, where President Ben Albritton has remained relatively quiet as the budget standoff continues.
The budget is the one bill lawmakers must pass each year. There is still a fair amount of time for legislators to work on a new budget, since the state’s fiscal year doesn’t start until July 1. But the House and Senate must first reach an agreement on budget allocations — the amount of money they will spend in key areas such as health care and education.
The House passed a budget that overall is $1.4 billion smaller than the version voted on by the Senate. Once legislative leaders can agree on the overall amounts, they will then turn to figuring out stand-alone budget items. Perez complained last week that they had been unable to reach a deal because the House has a “fundamental disagreement” over spending levels.
While Perez on Monday did not provide enormous clarity on the budget, he did take time to swat down rumblings the House may end its work by mid-week instead of continuing until Friday. Speculation has grown that the House and Senate — which have seen little agreements on multiple major issues outside of the budget — may not pass a lot of important bills so there would be little need to keep working.
“Despite wild rumors to the contrary, I intend for us to continue working until both the House and Senate agree that we have disposed of all pending matters before the Legislature,” said Perez.
The final days of the session can be a bit of a blur, with bills moving quickly as lawmakers make last-ditch efforts to save or kill legislation. But the House and Senate have different rules about what they can consider in the closing days. During the final two days, the House is limited to returning messages — or bills that have previously passed the House and were amended and passed by the Senate — as well as conference reports or resolutions.
There are no conference reports available because budget conference never started.
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Contact Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com. Follow Florida Phoenix on Facebook and Twitter.
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