Latest news with #R-Wauchula
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'Blew up': Florida House speaker slams Senate president for breaking state budget deal
Saying Florida Senate President Ben Albritton "blew up the framework for the budget deal we had," House Speaker Daniel Perez said lawmakers now must extend the 2025 session to June 30 to finish the 2025-26 state budget – the one job they are constitutionally mandated to do each year. In a May 9 memo to his members that was released to the news media, Perez, R-Miami, said Albritton, R-Wauchula, broke "his commitment to the House" and said he would "no longer bring the House's historic tax proposal to the Senate floor." That's because Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier in the week said he would veto any proposed cut to the state sales tax, claiming it would jeopardize his push for cuts to property taxes. 'Any 'Florida last' tax package is going to be dead on arrival,' he told reporters at an event in Tampa. The veto threat upended what was called a 'framework' for a budget deal agreed to by House and Senate leaders, who failed to reach an agreement during the 60-day regular session that was supposed to end May 2. Lawmakers still need to come to accord on what could be a $115 billion budget. In his own memo released soon after Perez's, Albritton said that "throughout the entire course of negotiations with the House, the Senate has been and remains committed to tax cuts that offer broad-based and meaningful tax relief for families, seniors, and small businesses." "... It is important to me that we develop a tax relief package that is sustainable for the long term and leaves room in our balanced budget for the voters to consider meaningful property tax relief on the ballot at the next general election," he added. "We will continue to work towards a final budget and tax relief package the House, Senate and Governor can support." Albritton also made clear that no work on the budget could begin the week of May 12, when lawmakers were expected to return to Tallahassee: "As soon as we determine a date to start the budget conference, we will certainly let you know." Meantime, Perez said he was "keenly aware that the uncertainty around the schedule causes problems for you and your families, but we will continue to work with the Senate to lock down dates as soon as practical." "... We will still be meeting on Tuesday, May 13 to hold a floor session to pass a concurrent resolution extending the timeline through the end of June. We will also hold a meeting of the Select Committee on Property Taxes." A request for comment is pending with the governor's office; DeSantis was in Jacksonville the morning of May 9 holding a roundtable on tax cuts. "Our responsibilities do not change," Perez added. "We will deliver a fiscally conservative budget that cuts government waste and puts Florida on the best possible trajectory for long-term success." This story, which contains previously published material, is developing and may be updated. Check back later for more. Jim Rosica is a member of the USA TODAY Network – Florida Capital Bureau. Reach him at jrosica@ and follow him on Twitter/X: @JimRosicaFL. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Perez: Senate president's actions force session extension to June 30
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Florida Legislature 2025: 5 questions as DeSantis, lawmakers find new balance of power
The last time Florida lawmakers gathered for a regular session, Gov. Ron DeSantis was still running for President and dominating the legislative agenda. Now, as lawmakers prepare to kick off another 60-day regular session Tuesday, Donald Trump is President, having elbowed DeSantis out of the GOP primary, and the governor is fresh off a bitter fight with Republican legislative leaders over stricter immigration enforcement. That fight ended with the Legislature passing many of DeSantis' proposals but leaving out several key pieces, such as restrictions on money illegal immigrants send back to their home countries and removing his power to transport the undocumented to other states, such as Massachusetts. Lawmakers also overturned a budget veto of $57 million in legislative support funding during the spat – the first veto override since 2010 and the first budget veto override of a Republican governor since the GOP takeover of Florida in the late 1990s. The episode shows a new dynamic between DeSantis and the latest legislative leadership duo of House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, and Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, who preside over GOP supermajorities in their respective chambers. DeSantis is still massively influential with the GOP-controlled Legislature, but not as utterly dominant as he once was, such as when the Legislature catered to his wishes on Congressional redistricting, provided him a state plane and hid his travel records from the public, and changed the resign to run law ahead of his run for President. In the meantime, Florida faces several chronic issues lawmakers may tackle in the next two months: big insurance rate increases, looming condominium costs driving out owners and continuing recovery needs from hurricanes, to name but a few. Here are five questions to be answered during the upcoming session: During the squabble over immigration enforcement, both DeSantis and the legislative leaders claimed the mantle of Trump, saying he supported their preferred approach to the issue. It's an indication of the prime importance of Trump and his approval for Republicans pushing their agenda in the Capitol – something that's likely to recur across many issues during the session. For instance, DeSantis and lawmakers have already borrowed Trump's creation of a federal Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) to brand their own efforts to trim perceived fat from Florida's $117 billion budget. An executive order signed by DeSantis this week created a Florida version of DOGE – a task force empaneled for one year to find bloat in state universities and local governments, while aiming to slash 700 state government positions and numerous boards. More: Gov. DeSantis establishes Florida version of DOGE, will cut positions, audit universities There is a pair of bills, however, to give the Legislature more power to scrutinize and halt new rules issued by state agencies and repeal obsolete regulations. State Rep. Tiffany Esposito, R-Fort Myers, filed one (HB 305) that would also require agencies to state whether a proposed rule would adversely affect small businesses or increase regulatory costs. 'Florida will continue to lead in the DOGE movement,' Esposito said in an X post touting the bill. When U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Naples, officially jumped into the 2026 governor's race Tuesday evening, he was quickly endorsed by a handful of Republican lawmakers. Those included some who have sparred with DeSantis and his staffers online, such as state Sen. Randy Fine, R-Melbourne Beach, and state Rep. Juan Porras, R-Miami. DeSantis was skeptical of Donalds' candidacy, despite the pre-endorsement he received from Trump, saying Donalds has been out campaigning for other Republicans rather than in the middle of pushing conservative victories in Florida. Meanwhile, DeSantis also spoke highly of the prospect of his wife, Casey, succeeding him as governor. There's 21 months until November 2026, but if a battle over the GOP nomination for governor breaks out early, it could affect legislation in the 2025 session should DeSantis target lawmakers backing Donalds. As the veto override shows, lawmakers have a new readiness to push back on DeSantis' agenda if it clashes with their own – regardless of 2026 considerations. Perez has set up committees to look into more possible overrides of other DeSantis line-item vetoes for the current budget. It's unclear, however, if Albritton and the Senate would go along with any further overrides. The Senate could present its own version of pushback to DeSantis. It has to confirm or reject hundreds of appointments made by DeSantis, and there's already been resistance to one in particular from GOP members. Fine amended a bill to strip Scott Yenor, DeSantis' pick for the University of West Florida Board of Trustees, from another board. The Legislature's only Jewish Republican who has repeatedly clashed with DeSantis, Fine has said Yenor is 'antisemitic' and an 'idiot' for comments he made regarding the fitness of people who aren't Christian white males for political office. Fine, though, is set to leave the Legislature nearly half-way through the session on March 31, as he's poised to win a special election for an open U.S. House seat. Also, DeSantis has three key allies in the Senate ready to rebut any pushback to his agenda, as they did during the immigration fight: Sens. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, Jay Collins, R-Tampa, and Jonathan Martin, R-Fort Myers. Albritton has laid out two main priorities ahead of session: A bill to buttress rural communities in education, health care and infrastructure, and legislation to give the Legislature greater authority to scrutinize and reject spending by water management districts. The water bill (SB 7002) allows the Joint Legislative Budget Commission, a panel of 14 members of the House and Senate, to reject budget plans of the water management districts if they use state money. It also requires the South Florida Water Management District to provide greater detail on its spending related to the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. The bill includes $1.5 billion for environmental projects around the state, including for Everglades restoration projects. DeSantis has clashed with the Senate in the past over water policy. In 2022 he vetoed a bill that was a priority of then-Senate President Wilton Simpson, now the state's elected agriculture commissioner. DeSantis blocked it over fears it would throw up regulatory hurdles for Everglades restoration projects. The bill (SB 2508) was sponsored by Albritton. The bill for rural areas (SB 110) carries a price tag of $119.3 million, and as lawmakers face a projected shortfall in three years and are looking for ways to reduce spending, the bill could face skepticism in the traditionally more budget-hawkish House. Previous coverage: Senate plan aims to boost health care, education and more in rural Florida communities Perez hasn't been as explicit in touting his to-do list for session. In fact, he's said he doesn't have one. Laying out a set of priorities, as Perez explained in his speech during the Legislature's organization session in November, could be seen as a way of boosting himself rather than addressing an issue. 'I make a speech, announce a priority, give it a fancy name, promise to spend a bunch of money, and then pat myself on the back when the bill passes, claiming that my speakership was a grand success,' Perez said. 'Except when the dust settles, the new law doesn't actually make a difference. It doesn't really solve the problem I claimed I was worried about. It's a game of labels and leverage for the purpose of ego and credit. 'I understand the game. I'm opting not to play.' But there were clues in the rest of his speech about his agenda. He said the state government was 'flush with cash' and cautioned members not to give themselves 'a free pass in Florida' by comparing themselves to the debt-ridden federal government. 'We buy land that we can't keep track of, much less manage competently,' Perez said. 'We spend millions of dollars on failed IT projects. How much money has been spent on Capitol renovations only to have parking garages that leak water and flood?' Related: A decade of disruption: Longtime Florida Capitol renovations complicating access for years One of the other issues Perez spoke about was property insurance. Skyrocketing rates in recent years have stabilized for some homeowners within the last year, but many homeowners still face spikes in premiums. DeSantis and some GOP lawmakers point to the legislation passed in December 2022 that restricted payments lawyers receive in lawsuits over disputed claims – a major gripe of the insurance industry that touted massive losses over the previous three years. But Perez and Albritton indicated they'd crack down on insurance companies taking advantage of the new laws to stiff legitimate claims. 'In my experience Floridians are realistic. They understand that there are tradeoffs. They understand that in a state battered by hurricanes, insurance will be a challenge,' Perez said in his November speech. 'But they need to know that our state's insurance laws are not being written by and for the insurance companies.' Gray Rohrer is a reporter with the USA TODAY Network-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at grohrer@ Follow him on X: @GrayRohrer. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida lawmakers return to Tallahassee for session: 5 big questions
Miami Herald
29-01-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
New Florida House Speaker defends bucking DeSantis over immigration legislation
Two weeks ago, Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez landed at the airport in Tallahassee and was greeted by a voicemail from Gov. Ron DeSantis, who had called to let him know that he was planning to beckon lawmakers back to the Capitol to create new laws to help the Trump administration carry out a sweeping deportation program. 'I called him and he did not answer,' Perez told the Herald/Times. 'And he did not call me back.' Eight minutes later, the governor announced that he would call a special session for Jan. 27 — launching a nationally-watched fight among Florida Republicans over immigration and how best to respond to President Donald Trump's attempt to identify and deport immigrants who are in the country illegally. The fight has exposed a huge rift between most state elected Republicans and the governor from their own party, and framed the first days of Perez's young tenure as one of Florida's most influential politicians. Since then, the Legislature — once a vehicle for DeSantis' policy agenda — has rejected the governor's proposals and moved to strip him of much of his immigration-enforcement powers by passing a bill that is likely to be vetoed. Perez, a Kendall area resident who represents a western Miami-Dade district, says a little communication could have gone a long way to preventing the whole imbroglio. 'When I tell you that this could have been avoided if communication were an option, it's not a fallacy. It's reality,' the Miami Republican told the Herald/Times on Wednesday afternoon It is against this backdrop that Perez — a 37-year-old attorney first elected to the House in 2017 — is starting his first of two years in power as the speaker of the Florida House. With a Republican supermajority that can pass legislation without concern for Democrats' positions, he is pushing his chamber forward with a new chief critic, the governor, who up until this week faced little challenge from Republicans in the Legislature. Perez is working in lockstep with Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, and says they drafted an immigration bill with 'positive input' from the White House. The bill would increase penalties for undocumented immigrants who commit crimes and would make Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson — a statewide Republican elected official — the state's chief immigration officer, empowering him to oversee the state's immigration enforcement efforts under Trump. The bill also includes more than $500 million to help local law enforcement officers get the training they need to help federal immigration agents and reimburse state and local law enforcement agencies for the cost of sharing detention beds with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. If the governor were to veto their bill, Perez did not rule out trying to override the governor's veto. 'All options are on the table,' he said. READ MORE: 'Not good at this.' Why lawmakers say they want to strip DeSantis' immigration powers But he said the goal is for Republicans to be able to address the issue of immigration. 'I will tell you, I do believe that the governor wants to solve this crisis just as much as I do, just as much as President Albritton does,' Perez said. 'At the end of the day, he is a co-equal branch of government. ' The question is how they will solve the issue, he said. Facing off a well-known Republican governor As Republican leaders wrangle with the governor over the immigration proposal, DeSantis has used his access to an influential conservative media ecosystem in an effort to sway the court of public opinion. Leveraging a national profile, DeSantis has railed against the Legislature's proposal on Fox News and conservative radio shows, and on social media has said the bill 'fails to honor our promises to voters, fails to meet the moment, and would actually weaken state immigration enforcement' in Florida. The bill — nicknamed the TRUMP Act — includes several changes to the state's immigration enforcement laws, but the marquee proposal would transfer much of the governor's immigration oversight authority. DeSantis, who has made a name for himself as an immigration hardliner in Republican politics, has accused lawmakers of trying to weaken immigration enforcement in the state by removing those powers from him. Perez maintained on Wednesday that the immigration bill the Legislature is pushing is stronger than the governor's proposal, but recognized that he is going up against one of the most well-known Republicans in the country. 'We are doing what we believe is right, which is following President Trump and making sure that illegal immigration no longer is the greatest crisis in this country,' Perez said. 'Although I can't message it to the masses the way he can, I feel very comfortable with the position of the Legislature.' The immigration bill was done in collaboration with the Trump administration, Perez said. He would not say who he personally spoke to in the administration, but said that the provision in the bill received 'positive input' from the White House. Asked if DeSantis vetoing the bill would mean he would be going against the White House recommendations, Perez said: 'That's for him to answer.' FLORIDA POLITICS: DeSantis is likely to veto the immigration bill. Does the Senate have the votes to override it? Moving forward In a speech to the Florida House on Wednesday night, Perez thanked state representatives for passing a bill that he called a 'game changer' and for withstanding public scrutiny from 'activists' and 'a lot of paid bots on social media trying to gaslight you' — a veiled shot at the army of aggressive social-media users who flock to the governor's side. 'Threatening others to get your way isn't leadership, it's immaturity. The people of our state deserve better,' Perez said in his final remarks on the House floor. In the interview Wednesday, Perez said he wants to send a message to members that he does not plan to 'lead with ego' as speaker of the House. 'I will never lead by my own self-interests or the eagerness for a headline,' he said. 'If it is not in the best interest of Floridians, I won't support it.' Moving forward, he said his agenda will include addressing issues in Florida's property insurance market, housing prices and education policies. While he did not have specifics to unveil as of Wednesday, he said that the state has not 'reached our end point' on what can be done about the escalating cost of property insurance. 'It is still a huge issue,' he said. 'But how we solve it is a question that we're still answering collectively as a Legislature.' Perez also said he will be interested in ensuring that taxpayer dollars are being used effectively in all aspects of state government, including the executive branch. 'There's no one that is going to get a pass, from the Florida House at least, on whether or not they are spending taxpayer dollars efficiently,' Perez said. 'That's work that we have to get to.'
