Budget negotiations move forward; special session next month

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(The Center Square) – Agreement has been reached by the Senate and House of Representatives on joint budget allocations and dates have been set for a special session on Florida's budget.

In a memo to senators Thursday, Senate President Ben Albritton said he and House Speaker Daniel Perez will be releasing a joint proclamation about the special session in the next few days. It is scheduled to run May 12-29.

The nearly three week-long session will include conference committees meeting the first week with all senators returning to their districts after May 15 and coming back to Tallahassee after Memorial Day to vote on the conference report, according to the memo.

Albritton said the final budget will be lower than Florida’s state budget for the current fiscal year, similar to the budget that was passed off the Senate Floor. He added the budget would emphasize long-term financial stability and focus on low taxes, paying down debt, and saving for the future.

The agreed upon budget allocations total $51.98 billion, according to fund allocations listed in the memo. The largest allocation, $19.2 billion, is earmarked for healthcare and health and human services. The second largest allocation is for PreK-12 education – a total of $16.2 billion.

Any supplemental funding issues will see funds split equally, the memo states.

Appointments to conference committees remain the same as those during the regular session. Recently voted in Democratic Sen. Brian Nathan, who flipped District 14’s seat in Tampa, received appointments to several conference committees. It’s not clear yet what conference committees new Rep. Emily Gregory will be appointed to on the House side.

The clarity on budget talks comes after the special session ended mid-March without an agreed upon state budget. After expecting a special session to hash it out in April, it was pushed back until a later date.

During the regular session, the Senate proposed a budget that was $1.4 billion more than the House budget.

Other general revenue fund allocations that have been agreed to include $6.96 billion for justice, and criminal and civil justice; $6.68 billion for higher education; $1.39 billion for agriculture and natural resources and agriculture and environment; $568 million for state administration and general government; $560 million for transportation, tourism, and economic development; and $476 million for administered funds and statewide issues.