The legislature adjourned Sine Die on Friday at 3:15 pm without completing the 2026-2027 state budget. Throughout the 2026 Legislative Session, tensions between the House and Governor, and House and Senate, dictated the pace and tone of work in Tallahassee. The Governor, beginning mid-last year, introduced the idea of eliminating property taxes as a method of financial relief for Floridians. Since that time, the property tax issues have held the legislature effectively hostage with significant questions about whether property tax reform would occur during the regular session. In 2025, the House and Senate took 105 days to craft a budget due to disagreements over recurring spending and potentially reducing the state sales tax. From day one as presiding officer, Speaker Perez has consistently mentioned the need for restraint in recurring state spending and directed his chamber to spend cautiously as economists have projected a significant deficit in the coming years. This year, the House budget came in roughly $1.4 billion dollars less than the Senate position, and the chambers have been unable to agree upon top-line allocations that would allow them to begin substantive budget negotiations.
Current speculation in Tallahassee is that the two chambers will go home to cool off and return to Tallahassee for a special session sometime after the Easter and Passover holidays. The Governor has previously called a special session for April 20th to deal with Congressional Redistricting. If the two chambers can agree on allocations, they could feasibly return to Tallahassee either the week of April 13th or April 27th to adopt a budget. The big question is whether property taxes would be included in the call of any such special session.
We will continue to keep you apprised of budget negotiations and any other pertinent developments. Our end-of-session reports will follow in the weeks ahead.