THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO THE FLORIDA BUDGET

THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO THE FLORIDA BUDGET

NOVEMBER 2017

? 2017 POLITICO Pro

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Legislative Session Timeline II. Five Things to Know III. Florida Budget: Step-by-Step

I. LEGISLATIVE SESSION TIMELINE THE 2018 SESSION AT A GLANCE

SEPTEMBER - DECEMBER? Pre-session committee weeks

NOVEMBER 14

? Governor issued 2018-19 budget recommendations

JANUARY 9

? Session convenes ? Governor delivers State of the State address

FEBRUARY

? Final committee meetings

MARCH 9

? Session ends

MARCH ? JUNE

? Budget signed into law

JULY 1

? New fiscal year begins

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II. 5 THINGS TO KNOW AHEAD OF BUDGET SEASON

Florida's fiscal year begins on July 1.

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The fiscal year begins on July 1, and the Legislature devotes its 60-day session to debating the

collection of bills that will comprise the state budget (also known as the General Appropriations

Act). The legislative calendar varies yearly; in odd years session is held from March to May,

and in even years it begins in January, according to state finance law.

Passing the budget is lawmakers' most important

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responsibility.

The budget is the only bill Florida lawmakers are required to pass, and coming to a compromise on

a balanced plan is the primary objective of session. However, the Florida House and Senate are

not always in alignment on budget priorities ? or even processes. At the start of the 2017 legislative

session, the House and Senate came in taking different approaches to how they wrote their budgets.

Fortunately, both chambers agreed to a joint rule to bridge the divide, averting any chaos that could

have ensued in the final budget negotiations.

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Budget battles are already brewing.

There have already been funding clashes between Gov. Rick Scott and various senators, who feel irked by what they see as the governor elbowing his way into the budget process [Note: it is legislators' task ? not the governor's ? to write the budget]. Senate leaders are particularly upset by the administration's spending decisions in the wake of Hurricane Irma and harbor resentment over an $85 million infrastructure spending pot that was approved by lawmakers as part of a last-minute budget deal last session.

Trouble Ahead?

Senate leaders are sending a strong early budget message to the governor after a contentious end to the 2017 legislative session, when they were largely cut out of final negotiations ? beginning with challenging Scott's priorities and spending habits in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. Watch for the Florida Senate to take a firm stance on the governor's budget.

Fallout from hurricanes Maria and Irma

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will dominate the upcoming budget process.

Lawmakers are diving into the web of issues tied to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico; Central and

South Florida have taken on thousands of additional people, many of whom need access to

schools, health care or other critical public services. In October, state education officials reported

that more than 3,500 students from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have moved to Florida

in the wake of the storm.

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