Florida Senate President Ben Albritton told Senate lawmakers on Thursday that they are expected to return to Tallahassee in mid-April for a special session on the state budget.
In his remarks, Albritton said it remains his intention for the Senate to adjourn sine die Friday in coordination with the House, but to reconvene after the Easter and Passover holidays to complete work on the budget. He said the Legislature would reserve its traditional end-of-session hankie drop ceremony until that budget session.
Albritton said senators would not need to remain in Tallahassee while budget negotiations continue. Instead, he and Senate Appropriations Chair Ed Hooper will keep working with House leaders to reach agreement on joint budget allocations, the broad spending targets that guide final conference negotiations between the two chambers.
The Senate president framed the ongoing budget work around affordability concerns, saying state government should keep taxes low, limit regulatory burdens, pay down debt and save for the future. He said the Senate would continue to “hold the line on spending” and work to strike what he described as the right balance between spending and saving.
