A.G. Gancarski
The Republican Party of Florida is ready to facilitate talks between Gov. Ron DeSantis, Senate President Ben Albritton, and House Speaker Daniel Perez so that all parties can get on track and pass a budget before July 1.
“Our Republican leaders are deeply committed to this state and have bold ideas to keep Florida thriving,” said RPOF Chairman Evan Power. “Bringing everyone to the table will help us focus on our shared priorities—fiscal responsibility, tax relief, and a balanced budget.”
The state party’s unprecedented offer to broker peace via “thoughtful discussion and aligned decision-making” comes after warlike rhetoric from the principals involved.
Perez said in a memo Friday the deal “has blown up” and added that on Tuesday, the House will “pass a concurrent resolution extending the timeline through the end of June.”
The budget takes effect July 1, so this timeline would not permit Gov. DeSantis to spend the customary weeks reviewing the legislative product.
In his own memo, Albritton notes that the House “proposal for an across-the-board sales tax cut would unduly benefit tourists and foreigners and is ‘dead on arrival’” should it be in the final budget.
“An across-the-board sales tax cut of one quarter of one penny is not meaningful, felt, or seen by families and seniors when compared with other available options,” Albritton wrote in a memo Friday.
The Senate and House seem to disagree about how serious the breakdown in communications is.
Senate budget chief Ed Hooper told Florida Politics Friday after the dueling memos that it’s “a big kerfuffle” and “it’ll get worked out.”
House budget chief Lawrence McClure, meanwhile, told Florida Politics “it’s not a kerfuffle, it’s a re-trade,” adding that the Senate went back on its word.
Other leading members of the House are not happy also, with one saying the Senate President’s office called them and said “they don’t know what Hooper was talking about.”
That member called the Senate “schizophrenic.”
The RPOF chair is nonetheless optimistic.
“By working together, we can deliver real and timely solutions for a brighter future for the Sunshine State,” Power implores.
On Friday in Jacksonville, the Governor blamed the House.
“They don’t even have a budget … They don’t even have an agreement on what the level should be. They’re not even close to any of this stuff,” DeSantis said. “For whatever reason, these guys in the leadership in the House, they’ve just decided that they were going to pursue this … foreign agenda to Florida in terms of Republicans and what we’ve done.”
4 comments
MH/Duuuval
May 10, 2025 at 10:47 am
In short, give the reins back to Dee — he has a Master Plan.
Earl Pitts American
May 10, 2025 at 10:52 am
Good Morn ‘Ting Florida,
STAND BY FOR “THE REST OF THE STORY:
I, Earl Pitts American, told Evan Power the only way to get this issue resolved is to have me, Earl Pitts American, present and in attendance, at this “So Called Brokerage Resolution Meeting”.
I, Earl Pitts American, an the only person on the planet who can force “Back-Stabbin RINO BEN” & “RINO Danny Boy” into compliance with just the “Implied Threat” of my, Earl Pitts American’s, size 13 wingtip getting forcefully kicked uo their oraface’s where the sun dont shine.
AND THAT, FLORIDA, IS THE REST OF THR STORY:
There you have it, Florida,
Earl Pitts American
GeeWoo
May 10, 2025 at 11:46 am
The issue is too many Dems ran as Repubs in the last 8 years. Now we have a huge collection of RINOs now in the House. Typical Leftist tactics. Seems like only DeSantis can see that clearly.
Spencer Ross
May 10, 2025 at 1:46 pm
While the Florida GOP tries to broker peace between House and Senate leaders over a stalled budget, I can’t help but notice what’s missing from the conversation: the Florida Highway Patrol.
The headlines are all about tax relief and fiscal priorities, but the silence on the Trooper staffing crisis is deafening. Florida keeps breaking records for tourism and population growth, yet we’re still working with staffing levels that haven’t changed in over 30 years. Our calls for fair pay, better recruitment, and modern tools to do the job right have gone unanswered.
If Republican leaders are serious about solving this budget standoff, they also need to get serious about supporting the men and women who keep our highways safe. A budget agreement means nothing if it leaves behind the very people protecting the public it’s supposed to serve.