TO: FSOMS Members
Lawmakers ended the 2026 Regular Session on Friday, March 13th, without passing a Budget for the second year in a row. Of the 1,896 bills filed, 237 bills passed and will be (or have been) sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis for his approval or veto, including several approved during a flurry of activity during the final week as Session wound down. But another central issue for Republican leaders and the governor – what to do about property taxes – remains outstanding.
Senate President Ben Albritton, noted that property tax relief will be addressed during the upcoming special session, along with efforts to close out the budget. “With affordability top of mind for Florida families, Senators will return to Tallahassee to put a meaningful option for property tax relief on the ballot for the fall election.” President Albritton indicated the intent is to return mid-April, following the Easter and Passover Holidays. Legislators were already expected to return to the Capitol the week of April 20th for a Special Session called by the Governor to redraw congressional districts following population changes since the 2020 U.S. Census. Governor DeSantis issued the proclamation back in January in response to President Trump’s call for mid-decade redistricting but delayed the Special Session until April in hope that a Louisiana Supreme Court case, which could potentially dismantle minority access districts, would be decided by then. To date, the court has yet to issue a ruling.
In the meantime, Senate and House Presiding Officers and Budget Chairmen are continuing to try to work out topline budget numbers—the so-called “allocations” for how much lawmakers will allot to different parts of the budget, which must be agreed upon before the Legislature can conduct conference committee meetings to bridge the gap between the two chambers’ spending plans. In addition to big-picture spending decisions, budget writers will decide the fate of individual member project funding requests. As of the final day of the regular session, House and Senate spending plans remained roughly $1.4 billion apart.
Because the Legislature adjourned Sine-Die, all bills which did not pass during the 60-day Session automatically die – including the Budget and Conforming Bills. As such, from a procedural standpoint, both chambers must start the budget process from scratch, including subcommittee meetings offering spreadsheets, full passage by the Appropriations Committee, then on to the floor again for debate and a vote by the full body – at that point, they can then enter into conference negotiations. There is nothing that would prohibit them from using the previously proposed budget bills as their base starting point, but we would anticipate they will not call the Special Session until there is an allocation agreement, so some initial changes in the spending plans may be forthcoming. The new fiscal year begins July 1, so it is possible – though not ideal – that the legislature could continue to delay the call for Special Session. It is also possible that additional policy issues which didn’t make the cut during the regular Session will be included in the call. We will continue to keep you updated as additional information becomes available.
Attached is your Bill Report, which now includes final legislative actions (ordered enrolled or died). We have included one which details all bills which we were tracking on your behalf, and a separate report which details only the enrolled bills. As more of these bills are presented to the Governor over the next several weeks – or months – the last action for the enrolled bills will be updated accordingly in our future bill reports. Additionally, for your reference, we have included a report listing all 237 bills which passed this year.
In the meantime, if you have any questions, or would like any additional information, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. As always, we thank you for your continued trust and confidence in our team!
