Florida legislative session gridlock

Black and white photo of the Florida Capitol building at night, featuring the historic dome and adjacent legislative offices during the 2025 session.

At the heart of the Florida legislative session gridlock

• Budget Breakdown – A $4.4 billion divide separates the House and Senate budget proposals, worsened by the House’s late-session push to reduce the state sales tax from 6% to 5.25%.

  
  

• Charity Controversy – Lawmakers are scrutinizing a $10 million state payment to the Hope Florida Foundation, a nonprofit associated with First Lady Casey DeSantis, which was subsequently routed to a political committee led by then-Chief of Staff and now-Attorney General James Uthmeier.

  
  

• Legislative Paralysis – With less than a week left in session, only 18 bills have reached Governor DeSantis’ desk—11 of which have been signed into law. Among them: measures renaming the “Gulf of Mexico” to the “Gulf of America” in state laws and school textbooks, aligning with a federal directive.

  
  

• Party Shakeups – The resignation of the Senate Democratic Leader, who also departed the Democratic Party entirely, has added further instability to an already fractious environment.

  
  

With House and Senate leaders unable to agree on top-line spending numbers and the session’s May 2 deadline approaching, legislative leaders have acknowledged that a special session is likely unavoidable.