In public addresses this week from the leaders of the House and Senate, each claimed that they cannot agree on a budget for next year, hinting at an upcoming special session and possibly even a shutdown.
On Thursday House Speaker Ben Albritton addressed the Senate to provide an update on the budget. He announced that he doesn’t believe that they will come to an agreement by May 2, which is the deadline for the budget to be approved.
Albritton attributes the issue to tax cuts, claiming that the House wants to cut taxes and create a smaller budget and believes that this could make it harder to fund essential services in the next fiscal year, which begins July 1.
“I understand their perspective and I applaud their resolve for better government,” Albritton said. “At the end of the day I’m just not comfortable with a proposal that I believe will likely lead to shortfalls, if not substantial shortfalls, in the out-years.”
Although Albritton was seemingly respectful to the Speaker of the House, Daniel Perez, Perez addressed his chamber on Thursday criticizing Albritton for publicly speaking out against what the House wants for a reduced budget.
Perez says that the actual concern is “pathological overspending.”
“I appreciate the president’s talk on metrics and studies,” Perez said. “But all of that is code for let’s spend money now and worry about how to save it later.”
He emphasized that the House has not tried to meet in the middle during negotiations. Perez says that there is a $4 billion gap between the two proposals. He also claimed that the Senate has been less than gracious to the House in their proposed plans.
According to Florida Politics, if a new budget is not in place by July 1, the state government could shut down.
To avoid a shutdown, the Senate can choose to extend the session or possibly decide to return at a later time after June 1.
On Friday House Budget Chair Lawrence McClure gave an update to the House about the budget negotiations, saying that they are preparing for an offer from the Senate to come in that night.
“The Speaker just wanted all of us to be on the same page,” said McClure. “Hopefully Tuesday, when you get here, I’ve got really good news, and we’re just conferring and getting out of here. But I wanted to update you.”
For now, both the Senate and the House will continue their budget negotiations and provide update on their decision by next week.