Florida Legislature Ends Session Without Budget as Special Session Set for Mid-April

Overview

• House and Senate leaders said they will return in mid-April to pass a budget after failing to reconcile competing plans before Sine Die.
• The chambers remain roughly $1.4 billion apart, with the House at $113.6 billion and the Senate at about $115 billion, as negotiators work toward joint allocations off the floor.
• Gov. Ron DeSantis confirmed a budget Special Session and predicted a quick resolution, calling it a potential “cut and paste” of prior spending plans.
• Lawmakers are also slated to reconvene the week of April 20 for congressional redistricting, with a separate property‑tax session expected but not yet finalized.
• The session closed with low output—234 of 1,896 bills passed—as critics, including former Senate President Don Gaetz, decried dysfunction while leaders defended the timeline to finish the budget.