TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — For the first time in a decade, Florida lawmakers may leave Tallahassee without doing the one thing they are constitutionally required to do: pass a budget.
With the end of the legislative session typically marked by the ceremonial "Sine Die" — Latin for "without day" — this year’s adjournment remains up in the air. Lawmakers have yet to strike a deal on the budget, and there’s still no precise end date in sight.
WATCH: Budget unfinished, session uncertain: Florida lawmakers face 'Sine Doubt'
Friday would normally bring the traditional hanky drop signaling session's end, but instead, state spending plan negotiations — particularly over proposed tax cuts — remain stalled, and lawmakers are at odds on several major bills.
“We are still in conversations with the Senate, but I do want to give you a road map for the next week or so,” said House Speaker Rep. Danny Perez (R-Miami).
On Thursday, leadership in both chambers announced lawmakers would work through Friday and then break for at least a week.
“We’re putting together a framework for the budget, and I’m optimistic we’ll have more news here very soon,” said Florida Senate President Sen. Ben Albritton (R-Bartow).
The Legislature faces a July 1 deadline to pass a balanced budget. It’s unclear whether lawmakers will extend the session or formally gavel out and reconvene later in a special session. If they adjourn without passing remaining bills, proposals on issues like boater safety, ballot initiative reform, and legal changes affecting insurance lawsuits would all die.
Florida Democrats have criticized the Republican supermajority for what they see as a failure of leadership. With so much left unfinished, members suggested 2025 was the year of the “Seinfeld Session” — a session about nothing.
“We don’t have a budget. It’s the one thing that we’re constitutionally obligated to do as a legislature is to pass a balanced budget to keep Florida working,” said House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell (D-Tampa). “And so in many ways, this session is a disappointment that we couldn’t get there. There’s been so much Republican infighting, you know, it just feels like we’re letting the people of Florida down.”
Republicans, however, are pushing back against the criticism, characterizing the delay as a normal part of the legislative process. That’s despite a still simmering dispute between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Speaker Perez.
“We’re going to get there. We always get there,” said Rep. Danny Alvarez (R-Dover). “It’s just, what’s the pain point between now and then, that’s really the question. And unfortunately, a lot of folks were sitting back home. They don’t understand the intricacies, so they think it’s all chaos. It’s not chaos. This is the negotiation of government, and sometimes it’s messy.”
Gov. DeSantis, meanwhile, has expressed frustration with the slow pace, pressing lawmakers to reach a resolution.
“This is not at this point rocket science, guys. We have six years of showing how it’s done,” DeSantis said during a recent press conference.
So far, with no budget and no timeline in place, the session remains in what some are calling "Sine Doubt."
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