Florida Lawmakers Near $2.25B Budget Deal to Avert Government Shutdown

Florida lawmakers have reached a breakthrough agreement on the 2025-2026 state budget after weeks of negotiations and session extensions, aiming to avoid a government shutdown before the July 1 fiscal year start. The budget framework includes $2.25 billion in spending cuts, a $900 million tax cut package that eliminates the business rent tax, and $350 million in permanent sales tax exemptions benefiting families, including traditional tax holidays for back-to-school and disaster preparedness. The plan also allocates about $50 billion in general revenue, with over $22 billion for education and $17.5 billion for health care, and includes a 2% pay raise for approximately 100,000 state employees along with measures to keep health insurance costs stable. Senate and House leaders plan to finalize details through conference committees and aim to pass the budget by June 16. The agreement emphasizes fiscal responsibility, debt reduction, and building state reserves, while addressing priorities such as tax relief and workforce investment. Governor Ron DeSantis supports the budget priorities, particularly the tax cuts and disaster preparedness sales tax holidays.