Transcript Highlights:

• Department of Corrections requests a transfer of $8.2 million in general revenue authority from the salary
• And so with the advent of the SMNC 3.0, there were some changes, and we made some adjustments to the
• We made some adjustments to the regions as well, went from 11 regions to 9 now, so we've kind of reduced
• And so with the advent of the SMNC 3.0, there was some changes and we made some adjustments to the regions
• as well, went from what 11 regions to 9 now. we made some adjustments to the regions as well went from

Summary: The Legislative Budget Commission met with a quorum present and considered 12 budget amendments, most of which were adopted without opposition. The first amendment transferred $8.2 million in Department of Corrections general revenue authority from salary incentives to contracted services to support the phased demobilization of Florida National Guard troops assisting with correctional staffing. Senator Pizzo questioned the length of the Guard’s deployment and urged a long-term staffing solution, while the department said the Guard presence was being reduced and that about 2,200 employees were in training. The Department of State received an additional $618,391 in federal grant authority for library grants and private cloud costs, and the Department of Transportation’s two amendments were zero-sum work program changes: one realigned funds to production-ready projects and another added three projects over $3 million each to the current-year work program. The commission then approved several Agency for Health Care Administration amendments tied to Medicaid supplemental payment programs. These included funding for the Florida Cancer Hospital Program, indirect medical education payments, disproportionate share hospital payments for the state mental hospitals, the Low-Income Pool program, physician supplemental and public hospital payments, Florida KidCare, and Medicaid services realignment. Members asked about possible federal disallowances in the LIP and physician/public hospital programs, and agency staff said some disallowances were likely but the amount was not yet known. For KidCare and Medicaid, staff explained the changes were based on the December estimating conference, enrollment shifts, and updated actuarial assumptions, including changes to managed care regions and program design. The final amendment restored budget authority for a hospital direct payment program after a prior payment, including a $24.3 million CMS-related amount and $3.2 million in administrative fees, was not processed before fiscal year-end and reverted. Senator Pizzo pressed the agency on how the payment was missed and whether any penalty applied; staff said the invoice was not received and processed in time and that communication issues contributed. After brief debate on each item, the commission adopted all amendments, with one recorded nay on the final item, and then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Have all the school districts been able to reach the minimum salary of $47,500 for all teachers?
• So does the allocation of $100 million for teacher salaries mean that, for some schools, it will be able
• Actually, the individual universities set their own salaries.
• It's specifically up to the university to set their salaries. We don't dictate what they can do.
• Retirees in the special risk class will receive an alternative cost-of-living adjustment of 1.5% after

Bills: S2500 , S2502 , S2504 , S7028 , S2506 , S2508 , S2510 , S2512 , S2514 , S2516 , S2518 , S0482 , S0678 , S0984 , S1016 , S1074 , S1706 , S7030

Committee: Senate Appropriations

Summary: The committee heard presentations on the Senate’s proposed 2026-2027 budget, SPB 2500, with chairs outlining major spending in K-12 education, higher education, health and human services, criminal and civil justice, transportation/tourism/economic development, and agriculture/environment/general government. Highlights included a $115 billion overall budget, pay raises for state employees and public safety workers, major K-12 funding increases and enrollment supplements, higher education workforce and nursing investments, expanded Medicaid/KidCare and behavioral health funding, corrections and law enforcement operational funding, transportation and housing investments, and significant environmental and water quality spending. Members asked about civic education funding, declining enrollment, professor retention, APD waiver waitlists, cultural grant allocations, and other line items. Public testimony also addressed HIV/AIDS drug assistance funding and prison air conditioning. SPB 2500 was adopted as a committee bill after amendment consideration and a roll call vote. The committee then took up implementing and related budget bills, including SPB 2502 (implementing the General Appropriations Act), SPB 2504 (state employee bargaining placeholder), SB 7028 (Florida Retirement System contribution rates and related retirement changes), SPB 2506 (fuel tax distributions), SPB 2508 (state agency law enforcement radio system surcharge), SPB 2510 (termination of an unused court trust fund), SPB 2512 (new judgeships), SPB 2514 (K-12 conforming changes), SPB 2516 (higher education conforming changes), and SPB 2518 (health conforming changes). Most were explained as technical or conforming measures tied to the budget, and all were reported favorably as committee bills, with SB 7028 amended to direct a portion of increased contributions to disability and line-of-duty death benefits in the FRS investment plan. The committee also heard and passed several member bills, including CS for SB 1074 on rounding rules for cash transactions in a world without pennies, CS for SB 678 restoring the alcohol loss deduction framework for distributors, and SB 964 on firefighter cancer benefits and prevention. SB 964 drew the most discussion, with questions about the one-year death-benefit window, the separate $25,000 cancer diagnosis payment, and whether the bill could create gaps in coverage for firefighters diagnosed or dying just outside the new time limits. Firefighter representatives testified in support, saying the bill would provide clearer protections for members and families. All of these measures were reported favorably.

Transcript Highlights:

• were the personnel director and your role on the personnel board as it relates to state employee salaries
• And so I believe that part of the system that you have to implement is a fair way of addressing salaries
• from The HR department would participate in roundtables with like industries to compare wage and salary
• State Personnel puts forward to the State Personnel Board for recommendations for maybe Changing salary
• I agree, and I think that the payroll should be adjusted for the accommodation of remote unless it's

Bills: SM13 , SM14 , SM13 , SM14

Committees: Senate Senate Rules , Senate House Rules & Order Of Business

Keywords: land grant, Las Vegas, governance, self-governance, judicial management, forced sterilization, coerced sterilization, Indigenous women, Native American women, women of color, reproductive justice, reproductive sovereignty, truth and reconciliation commission, memorial, trauma-informed care, reparative justice, human rights, bodily autonomy, Indian Health Service, Indian affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• INDIVIDUALS THERE TRYING TO DO WELL WITH TWO ENDS OF THE SPECTRUM, BY REMOVING THE INMATES WHO HAVE ADJUSTED
• Pizzo: WHAT IS THE STARTING SALARY FOR A CORRECTIONS OFFICER IN FLORIDA?
• Pizzo: WHAT'S THE STARTING SALARY FOR A COUNTY CORRECTIONS OFFICER FROM THE SHERIFFS DEPARTMENT?
• DIFFERENCE, ONE DAY WE SAT DOWN A BUNCH OF TRIPS AND OUR SALARY DIFFERENCE, ONE DAY WE SAT DOWN AND
• OUR RETIREMENT WAS TREMENDOUS BUT IN MIAMI-DADE FOR EXAMPLE WHERE I KNOW MANY OFFICERS PROBABLY THE SALARY

Transcript Highlights:

• The request is to remove $26,500 from conference and travel to salaries and extra help.
• reallocation of previously awarded appropriation the request to remove 26,500 from conference and travel to salaries
• Twelve agencies are requesting $442,000 in pay plan appropriation to pay salaries and match.
• All but one cite salary adjustments that came from implementation of the pay plan within the Class and

Committee: All JOINT BUDGET COMMITTEE

Summary: The committee considered and approved several temporary appropriation requests in Section B, including spending authority for the Court of Appeals to pay appointed counsel in criminal appeals, Commerce/Aeronautics airport and aviation grants, and Insurance Department items for workers’ compensation benefits and premium tax refunds. It also approved ARPA-related requests in Section C to return unused federal funds from DHS aging, mental health, substance abuse, and Older Americans Act grants. In Section D, the committee reviewed and approved Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act requests, including Agriculture grants for wildfire preparedness and forestry capacity, a large Commerce broadband BEAD request, environmental recycling-related reallocations, and Oil and Gas Commission grants for facility repairs and sample preservation. Members questioned the broadband program’s audit process and performance safeguards; the State Broadband Director said the funds are federal, subject to audits, and payments are released only after engineering certification of completed work. The committee also approved DHS reallocations in Section E, including major transfers within Medical Services from hospital medical appropriations to private and public nursing home lines, as well as transfers for children and family services, developmental disabilities, and youth services. The committee then reviewed cash fund requests, miscellaneous federal grants, pay plan and performance fund transfers, methods of finance, and a large set of contracts. A Northwest Arkansas Community College official explained storm-damage repairs and insurance settlement issues, and DHS explained its hospital medical transfer was moving excess appropriation rather than cash. Members also questioned several UAPB tobacco prevention subgrants, especially arts-based outreach, and asked for more data on effectiveness; the committee later voted to expunge and re-refer the J-2 item for further review at a later ALC meeting. Additional discussion covered a DEQ grant to Free Geek of Arkansas for e-waste recycling, a UAPB tobacco program, and various contracts for universities, DHS services, corrections, and public safety. The meeting ended with reports filed for information and a brief member comment thanking others for concern after a tornado in Stone County; no one was injured.

Transcript Highlights:

• categories within the Operations and Maintenance Trust Fund, transferring $2.2 million from the salaries
• categories within the Operations and Maintenance Trust Fund, transferring $2.2 million from the salaries
• Today, I'm proud to announce, thanks to efforts on your part with salary increases to nurses and bonuses
• Today we're managing over 140,000 cases, and without this adjustment, we risk a deficit that would limit
• And so what we're doing is moving authority from the salaries and benefits category to the contracted

Summary: The Legislative Budget Commission considered 21 budget amendments, most of them routine authority adjustments tied to federal grants, Medicaid payment programs, and trust fund realignments. The Department of Education received $14.751 million for a Preschool Development Grant to support early learning system improvements, workforce credentialing and training, IT modernization, and related early childhood certification work. The Department of Veterans Affairs shifted $2.2 million within its trust fund to cover higher nursing home occupancy, replace contract nursing with OPS staff, and meet rising operating costs. The Department of Health moved about $9.1 million to support Disability Determinations, where roughly 140,000 cases were pending or in process, and said the change would help reduce backlog and avoid a deficit. The Agency for Health Care Administration presented multiple amendments for Medicaid-related programs, including $766 million for indirect medical education, $1.9 million for managed care network adequacy audits, $209 million for the Rural Health Transformation Program, and several large supplemental payment programs for hospitals and physicians; members asked about CMS approval delays, provider access, and how rural funds would be distributed. The commission also adopted an amendment realigning KidCare funds, placing a $32.1 million surplus into reserve, though several members objected that the state had not yet implemented the 2023 KidCare expansion and that children remained on a wait list. Another Medicaid amendment placed a $376 million surplus into reserve after updated estimating conference projections. Other agencies also received approvals. FDLE received $16.26 million to buy counter-unmanned aircraft systems equipment such as radar and RF sensors to detect and mitigate drone threats. The Department of Juvenile Justice received $1.6 million for the Florida Scholars Academy and a Social Services Block Grant realignment, with staff confirming corrective action had been taken after prior audit findings about allowable SSBG spending. The Division of Emergency Management received federal pass-through authority for FIFA World Cup security and counter-UAS funds, both controlled by the Miami host committee, and members noted the state had little direct oversight over how those local grants would be used. The Department of Commerce received $148.4 million for Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery work, with questions focused on the split between housing, infrastructure, and administrative costs. The Department of State received $408,377 for arts and culture federal grant obligations. All amendments were adopted, generally without objection, after brief questioning and no public testimony.

Transcript Highlights:

• Other programs have not deployed the endowment earnings for faculty salaries.
• They did not spend any of the earnings on faculty salaries.
• . $142,000 were spent on faculty salaries.
• One, salary increases for our educators.
• Do you provide those for faculty salaries, for other expenses, etc.?

Committee: House Legislative Health & Human Services Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• Salaries and benefits is about 70% of your expenses.
• Salaries and benefits is about 70% of your expenses.
• </c><01:18:52.120><c> and</c> mentioning that almost 70% is salary and mentioning that almost 70% is
• salary and benefits<01:18:52.960><c> that's</c><01:18:53.280><c> that's</c><01:18:53.600><c> embedded
• or reductions that budget adjustments or reductions that need<01:34:43.119><c> to</c><01:34:43.239><

Committee: House Higher Education Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• that provided students access to a comprehensive education, and when I could apply to an ongoing salary
• schedule to pay teachers a competitive salary.
• 1204 is to raise public school funding, many of our member districts are opposed to the proposed adjustments
• These adjustments would severely diminish the funds available to raise the base funding levels of all

Summary: The Senate Committee on Appropriations heard SCA 5, the Education Equalization Act, which would create an Equalization Reserve in the General Fund funded only in strong budget years with non-Prop 98 dollars. Senator Cortese and supporters argued it would provide a stable, ongoing stream of funding to reduce per-pupil disparities between basic-aid and non-basic-aid districts without reducing the Prop 98 minimum guarantee. Supporters included education foundation, school board, administrator, employee, and business representatives. Opponents, including the California Charter Schools Association, argued the measure unfairly excludes charter and county school students and could worsen inequities; some committee members also raised concerns about its fiscal effects and constitutional structure. The committee ultimately voted 4-0 to adopt SCA 5, with the measure kept on call for additional members. The committee then took up a series of Assembly bills, most of which were suspense-file candidates and were moved without objection after brief or waived presentations and no opposition testimony. AB 402, AB 708, AB 1080, AB 1126, AB 1235, AB 1555, AB 1641, ACA 7, AB 1672, AB 1943, AB 2565, and AB 2571 were all sent to suspense. AB 1204 drew testimony from school district leaders and coalition members who said it would worsen LCFF funding disparities by shifting future growth away from the base grant; the bill was opposed and moved to suspense. AB 1672 received support from CalPACE. The Department of Finance did not attend and had no comments on the measures. Finally, ACA 18 was presented as a constitutional amendment to double student voting seats on the UC Board of Regents, creating separate undergraduate and graduate student representation. The author and UC student witnesses said the change would strengthen student voice on issues such as tuition, housing, basic needs, and free speech, and would align UC with CSU and community college governance. There was no opposition testimony, but the committee treated ACA 18 as a suspense-file candidate and moved it to suspense without objection. The hearing then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Committee Report number 140, final reading of House Bill 2275, Conference Draft 1, relating to funding adjustments
• While salaries may look average on paper, when...
• Salaries may look average on paper, but when adjusted for cost of living in our state, our teachers are

Transcript Highlights:

• We would love to adjust the language. Dr. Beth Winton: Yeah. I mean, I think that we're...
• We would love to adjust the language.
• fund the calculation of this section, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education shall adjust
• If we aren't being competitive salary-wise, and you can drive 10 miles and be across the border and get
• the same, you still live in our state and get a higher salary, you're probably going to.

Committee: House Elementary and Secondary Education

Transcript Highlights:

• South Dakota's system, which uses a statutory funding policy that has adjusted.
• And then we also look at the savings rate, which is the share of the annual salary that a worker gets
• And then on the savings rate side, both are meeting our retirement readiness benchmark for annual salary
• one you're probably most familiar with, given New Mexico, is the variable benefit, particularly adjustable
• Though states are doing stress testing, they've made planned design changes and other policy adjustments

Committee: House Investments & Pensions Oversight Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• ensured that the funds followed the student by forecasting, counting, resolving duplications, and adjusting
• Duplicated FTE results in funds not correctly following the student, and prior-year adjustments delay
• I commend you for adjusting the weights as they are determined to be related to the cost of the program
• An additional $100 million for a teacher salary increase, which will focus on veteran classroom teachers
• An additional $100 million for a teacher salary increase which will focus on veteran classroom teachers

Summary: The Pre-K through 12 Budget Subcommittee met during Budget Week and first considered three member bills. House Bill 1111, by Rep. Valdes, would eliminate the option for students to leave high school with a certificate of completion instead of a standard diploma. Valdes said the bill was inspired by students who met credit requirements but could not pass a required assessment, and argued the certificate does not provide access to college, trade school, or military service. The bill passed unanimously, 15-0. CS for House Bill 127, by Rep. Kendall, would support students with disabilities by using existing Florida Department of Education curriculum to create micro-credentials and coordinating with the Florida Center for Students with Unique Abilities and OSHA on workplace safety. Goodwill, the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council, Florida PTA, and others supported the bill, which also passed unanimously, 15-0. House Bill 1367, by Rep. Booth, addressed chronic absenteeism by requiring statewide definitions and more uniform attendance reporting, along with rules for excused and unexcused absences and early identification of chronically absent students. Testimony emphasized inconsistent district policies and the need for clearer data and interventions. The bill passed 13-0, with some members noting concerns about implementation details and future rulemaking. The committee then took up PCB-P-PKB-2501, the proposed conforming bill for the fiscal year 2025-2026 Pre-K through 12 budget. The chair said the bill was designed to align statutes with budget and scholarship funding procedures, especially around the Florida Education Finance Program and scholarship payments. The PCB would require Florida student ID numbers for scholarship students, standardize cross-checking against FTE survey data, set quarterly payment dates, and use one data source for both reporting and withholding scholarship-related FFP amounts. It also would reduce certain add-on weights by 50%, remove the budget stabilization program, and repeal the educational enrollment stabilization program. Several members raised concerns that the add-on weight reductions could hurt career and technical education, AICE, IB, and CAPE programs, while the sponsor argued the data showed too much spending in an “other” category and that the reductions were aimed at aligning funding with actual program costs. Public testimony was mixed: some supported tighter accountability and clearer payment rules, while others warned against undermining expensive career-readiness programs. The PCB passed 11-2. After the conforming bill, the chair presented the proposed fiscal year 2025-2026 Pre-K through 12 budget, totaling just under $21 billion, about $400 million below the current year. She said the budget reflects a need to slow spending growth and includes $20 million for New Worlds Scholarship Accounts, $7 million for security grants at Jewish day schools and preschools, $14 million for public school transportation stipends, an overall FEFP increase of about $747.7 million, $100 million for teacher salary increases, and increases in the base student allocation and funds per student. The committee did not vote on the budget recommendation at this meeting; it was distributed for review and will move to the Budget Committee next week.

Transcript Highlights:

• So trying to adjust for tax policy changes in the current fiscal year is extremely challenging, as you
• So it gives us an opportunity to adjust and make the appropriate adjustments to our current-year budget
• So it gives us an opportunity to adjust and make the appropriate adjustments to our current-year budget
• And those national profits get adjusted by the kinds of deductions that they can take.
• The average salary would be $125,000. And it does research.

Bills: H4975

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Revenue

Keywords: federal tax changes, OBBBA, revenue impact, pass-through entities, state budget, tax relief, high-income earners, opportunity zones

Transcript Highlights:

• Our members are eligible to receive a cost of living adjustment.
• The only difference for volunteer firefighters is they don't get a cost-of-living adjustment to that
• It reduced the cost-of-living adjustment from 3% down to 2%.
• Slide 14, Madam Chair, looking at our cost of living adjustment.
• They get a 2% cost of living adjustment every third year.

Committee: House Investments & Pensions Oversight Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• The budget cycle also affords opportunities to make adjustments to the backfill.
• are adjusted.
• Additionally, there are population change adjustments that are in there.
• While the adjustment reflects a reduced amount, this is consistent with previous adjustments, as the
• We'll adjust it annually based on the markers identified in the proposal.

Transcript Highlights:

• the Pulaski County District's board: a $1,690 increase in the Waste Tire Coordinator's contracted salary
• paid to the director, office manager, administrative assistant, and recycling route drivers, and salary
• For the first year, I did not take a salary.
• For the first year, I did not take a salary.
• And I need to get it fixed so I can go back and make a normal salary. Thank you, ma'am.

Committee: All LEGISLATIVE JOINT AUDITING-COUNTIES AND MUNICIPALITIES

Summary: The committee approved the February 12 minutes and then received updates on delinquent municipal water and sewer reports, noting substantial progress in bringing cities back into compliance. Several items were deferred at the request of local officials, including Fargo’s municipal accounting code report, Jericho’s misuse of street funds matter, Biggers, Holly Grove, Gilmore, and several private water and sewer reports lacking proper responses. The committee also filed a number of reports with no questions or with resolved findings. A lengthy portion of the meeting focused on repeat audit findings and management responses. The City of Strong’s mayor described corrective steps on undeposited funds, improper use of solid waste funds, unsupported spending, IRS payroll tax issues, accounting controls, restricted fund transfers, and budget overruns; the committee commended the city’s efforts and filed the report. Calhoun County’s report, involving improper county spending for an appreciation banquet and altered receipts in the collector’s office, was also filed after discussion about educating local officials on constitutional spending limits. Other reports filed included Salem, Briarcliffe, Compton Water Association, and Montgomery County Regional Public Water Authority, while several private water reports were deferred or referred to prosecutors and the Attorney General. The committee reviewed a major regional solid waste management districts report, with significant findings for Pulaski County and Faulkner County involving unapproved payroll items, missing documentation, vehicle and cell phone use, lack of competitive bids, and weak internal controls; Benton County had fewer issues, and several districts had no findings. On motion, the Pulaski County report was deferred so district representatives could answer questions. The committee also heard from Nevada County, where unauthorized withdrawals and interlocal landfill agreement problems were discussed; the county judge said the issues were being corrected, and the report was filed. Later, the committee heard from the City of Grubbs about long-standing IRS debt and from Cross County Rural Water System about overdue audit posting and water quality problems; both witnesses described corrective efforts and ongoing funding or infrastructure projects, and the committee filed the reports after extensive discussion.

Transcript Highlights:

• And if there's any adjustments, modifications, etc., that need to.
• I know that the workforce stabilization The salaries, that's about 10 million.
• It has to do also with Increasing the salaries of our healthcare workers up at OFC up at Enneda.
• So, you were talking a little bit ago that the salary expectations of psychiatrists were pretty high.
• What is a salary expectation for a That salary ranges from half a million dollars more.

Committee: House Appropriations and Budget

Transcript Highlights:

• However, you're mandating that $102 million be used for salary increases.
• This budget provides record funding for salary increases for teachers.
• The starting salaries have gone up.
• Chair Maney, I'm very concerned about funding for public defenders and for their salaries.
• This bill doesn't adjust the law. It redefines it entirely.

Summary: The House convened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and a quorum present, then adopted the special order report and moved into a series of budget-related bills. The chamber first took up HB 5011/SB 2506 on environmental resource management and natural resources funding, where Democrats argued the bill would reduce recurring support for the Resilient Florida program, the Florida Wildlife Corridor, invasive species removal, and other conservation efforts. Supporters said the change would shift money from recurring to nonrecurring funding so the Legislature could reassess priorities each year and rely more on private-sector stewardship. After a strike-all amendment and conference posture change, SB 2506 passed 97-12. HB 5013, reducing state-funded property reinsurance reserves, passed 108-0, and HB 5501, redirecting documentary stamp tax distributions from housing and transportation trust funds into general revenue, passed 82-26 after extended debate over its impact on affordable housing and transportation funding. The House also passed HB 5015 on state group insurance, which requires DMS to develop a formulary management system and was described as producing significant savings; members raised concerns about prescription access and implementation, but the bill passed 109-0. HB 5201 on state financial accounting and HB 5203 on the Capitol Center both passed unanimously, as did HB 5009, which creates a Florida Accountability Office and reorganizes audit functions. The chamber then passed HB 7031, a major sales tax reduction bill lowering the state sales tax rate and several related rates; supporters framed it as permanent relief for all Floridians, while opponents said property tax relief would be more meaningful and that the sales tax cut would also benefit tourists and out-of-state visitors. HB 7031 passed 112-0. The House then began consideration of HB 501, the proposed fiscal year 2025-26 budget, totaling $112.9 billion and emphasizing reduced recurring spending and large reserves. Subcommittee chairs outlined their budget silos: K-12 education at $20.6 billion with teacher raises, school hardening, literacy, transportation stipends, and security funding for Jewish day schools; health care at $47 billion with full Medicaid and KidCare funding, opioid settlement spending, mental health beds, and senior services; transportation/economic development at $18.5 billion; agriculture and natural resources at $5.8 billion with reduced Everglades spending but continued water, resiliency, and land management funding; higher education at $8.7 billion; state administration at $2.9 billion; justice at $7.3 billion; and IT at $529 million for Florida PALM, FX, and other systems. Members then began questioning the K-12 budget, focusing on FEFP funding, proration, voucher growth, stabilization dollars, mental health and school safety funding, and whether districts would be held harmless under the proposed allocations.

Transcript Highlights:

• Employee turnover cost them 20 to 30% of annual salaries, but paid leave cuts that turnover in half,
• So we have this very different system that can adjust for different-size employers so that different
• for different size employers so adjust for different size employers so that<00:07:41.919><c> different
• Your salary replacement will be made according to that. Is the infrastructure going to be ready?
• Your salary replacement will be made according to that. Is the infrastructure going to be ready?