The legislative session has ended, but the work hasn’t. Lawmakers left the capitol without a finalized state budget or agreement on property tax reform, setting the stage for a special session that, as of now, has yet to be formally called.
That uncertainty has created a holding pattern in Tallahassee, where members are waiting for direction on when negotiations will resume.
Rep. Lindsay Cross, who represents parts of Pinellas County, expected lawmakers to be called back sooner.
“The governor had called for a special session on redistricting on April 20,” Cross said. “I thought there would be a possibility for notification on budget the week before. We are all just waiting …”
At the center of the impasse is a roughly $1.4 billion gap between the House and Senate. The House has pushed for a leaner spending plan, while the Senate has favored a higher overall budget.
Cross said her focus, once negotiations resume, will remain local. “I’m not going to play. Best thing I can do is advocate for budget requests I have to support the community,” she said. “Once House and Senate are closer on total budget, then there’s more opportunity to allocate for projects.”
Among those requests are several tied to St. Petersburg and Pinellas County, including $3 million for stormwater improvements in Shore Acres around Denver Street, $2.5 million for the Mahaffey Theater, and funding for projects like Autumn Run Park in Pinellas Park and the St. Pete Free Clinic. Cross said there is a strong chance that at least partial funding for some of those projects could still come through.
But even if the budget gap narrows, another issue looms just as large: property taxes.
The House has floated more aggressive proposals to reduce property tax revenue, a move Cross warned could have significant downstream effects on local governments.
“There would be significant cuts to local governments, to cities and counties,” she said. “Every local government said this is irresponsible. Anyone who has served in local government knows how important property taxes are.”
According to Cross, those reductions would force cities and counties to make difficult tradeoffs.
“We’ll have to shift our funding, higher fees, or get rid of things that are important to people: libraries, parks, fire and police, regular garbage protections.”
The debate over property taxes is unfolding alongside disagreements in other areas, including roughly $300 million in K-12 education funding and how the state should approach private school vouchers.
Still, Cross said the broader concern is what she sees as a lack of focus on affordability. So far, the only major movement out of the House has been HJR 203, a proposal tied to property tax changes that Cross said raises concerns about maintaining adequate funding for essential services like police and fire departments.
For now, lawmakers remain in a kind of procedural pause, with no formal timeline for when the special session on the budget will begin.
That delay stands in contrast to the long-standing symbolism that typically marks the end of Florida’s legislative session.
Traditionally, when the work is done, leaders in the House and Senate drop a white handkerchief (known as the “Sine Die”), signaling adjournment and the close of business for the year.