Senate, House get in ‘proper posture’ for Special Session on budget – Image for illustrative purposes only (Image credits: upload.wikimedia.org)
Florida lawmakers returned to Tallahassee this week to position their spending plans for the 2026-27 fiscal year. The Senate and House moved quickly to align their versions of key budget bills, clearing the way for formal negotiations that will run for the next 18 days. With the current budget set to expire June 30, the special session carries the weight of delivering a balanced plan that meets constitutional requirements while addressing long-term fiscal priorities.
House Clears Identical Spending Bills
Under the direction of Speaker Daniel Perez, House members took up and approved 12 budget bills that matched the spending measures passed during the regular session in February. The action required only a series of procedural motions, since every detail had already been debated and voted on earlier in the year. Perez emphasized that the chamber had completed its substantive work months ago and now simply needed to place the bills in the proper form for conference.
The House action sent the full package to the Senate for further processing. This step ensured both chambers started from a common set of documents rather than reopening earlier disagreements on individual line items.
Senate Replaces Language and Clears Path
The Senate received the 12 House bills and immediately substituted the language of 10 of them with its own companion measures. The remaining two bills had their text deleted entirely, leaving clean vehicles for the upcoming talks. Senate budget chief Ed Hooper, a Palm Harbor Republican, told colleagues that once the procedural steps concluded, the conference process could begin later the same day…