Our focus for this column is squarely on Gainesville most months, but this month we are taking the opportunity to look to Tallahassee. What a spring it has been in our state capitol! Though the outcome seemed in doubt for a few weeks there, the history-making 2025 Legislative Session has officially come to an end, adjourned sine die on Monday, June 16, just before 11:30 p.m. The usual 60-day Session became a contentious 105-day one, but in the end legislators fulfilled their constitutional duty and passed SB 2500, the budget bill, and HB 7031, the taxation package.

It is probably always safe to say, but particularly this year, no one got exactly what they wanted, but the Senate passed the budget bill unanimously and the tax package 32-2. The House vote saw two members vote no on the budget (103-2) and seven on the tax package (93-7).

Here are a few highlights of the budget:

• a $115.1 billion budget
• $3.5 billion smaller than the 2024 budget, the first time since 2011 to see a decrease in year-over-year spending
• also $500 million less than the budget proposed by the governor
• provides for a 2% raise for state employees
• provides $101.6 million for teacher salary increases
• includes a study on potential property tax reduction options
• relies on increased property tax revenues for funding K-12 schools
• eliminates 741 government positions
• And a few elements of the tax package:
• a $1.3 billion tax cut package
• eliminates the Business Rent Tax, lowering revenue by $904.8 million, effective October 1, 2025
• repeals the Aviation Fuel Tax
• makes permanent the Back-to-School Sales Tax Holidays
• makes certain hurricane supplies tax-exempt year-round
• makes admissions to state parks tax-exempt
  
  Legislators also plan to stash $1.5 billion over the next two fiscal years into the Budget Stabilization Fund to weather a potential recession. They also proposed HJR 5019, which will go to voters next year and, if passed, raise the amount of funds automatically saved in the Stabilization Fund from 10% to 25%. Budget Stabilization Fund to weather a potential recession. They also proposed HJR 5019, which will go to voters next year and, if passed, raise the amount of funds automatically saved in the Stabilization Fund from 10% to 25%.
  
  The budget now goes to Governor DeSantis, who has until June 30 for vetoes and signing the bills into law.
  
  During the extended Session, the legislators were busy, filing 1,958 total bills, though that is fewer than the number filed in past years. Of those, 265 bills passed both Chambers, and to date, the governor has signed 165 bills into law, with 100 awaiting action. A couple of notable bills include HB 209, which permanently bans certain commercial developments within Florida’s state parks, and HB 1205, which changes the laws governing the citizen petition process for amending the state constitution.
  
  Incredibly, planning has begun in earnest for Florida Legislative Session 2026, with interim committee weeks scheduled to begin October 4th and Session kick-off on January 13th. As always, your chamber will have eyes on Tallahassee, at least for football and politics.

Editor’s note: This is the latest in a series of business columns sponsored by Pavlov Media.