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(The Center Square) – Florida’s legislative session concluded with several key bills passing both chambers, but unfinished budget matters and the absence of a property tax relief proposal mean lawmakers will need to return to Tallahassee for a special session.
Second-term Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has already called a special session on congressional redistricting scheduled for April.
Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Bartow, stated in his closing remarks that lawmakers will also reconvene to finalize a balanced budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year and to place “a meaningful option” for property tax relief on the November ballot.
A major bill that passed was Florida’s version of the SAVE Act, which requires voters to present ID proving U.S. citizenship and eliminates student IDs as an acceptable form of voter identification.
Another bill regulating large data centers in Florida passed both chambers, although some of its strongest provisions were weakened before approval.
The Legislature also approved a bill granting the state’s Chief of Domestic Security within the Florida Department of Law Enforcement the authority to designate groups as domestic or foreign terrorist organizations if certain conditions are met.
Several prominent priorities failed to pass. At the start of the year, there were at least seven proposals addressing property tax relief, but none were enacted.
“This session has been a failure,” said House Democratic Caucus Leader Fentrice Driskell, D-Tampa. “Republicans fought among themselves and Floridians lost.”
Driskell criticized Republicans for not adequately focusing on affordability.
The Artificial Intelligence Bill of Rights, supported by DeSantis, passed the Senate but stalled in the House. The bill aimed to implement parental controls and protections for minors while regulating AI use in the state.
DeSantis blamed the House for “blocking” the bill.
Of the more than 1,800 bills filed this session, approximately 185 general bills passed both chambers, according to the Florida Chamber of Commerce.
The Chamber noted a $1.4 billion gap remains between the House and Senate budgets, which lawmakers must resolve.
House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, acknowledged in the final week of the regular session that it was “abundantly clear” the state budget would not be completed in time to avoid a special session.
“Despite wild rumors to the contrary, I intend for us to continue working until both the House and Senate agree that we have disposed of all pending matters before the Legislature,” said Perez.
