While Gov. Ron DeSantis and GOP lawmakers agree that excess government spending needs to be cut, Senate President Ben Albritton and House Speaker Danny Perez are starting to point the finger at the state government.
On the first day of the 60-day legislative session, Albritton and Perez echoed Gov. Ron DeSantis's call for a state version of the Department of Government Efficiency to investigate local overspending. But the GOP leaders, perhaps reinvigorating their month-old rub with the governor, believe the investigation needs to turn its eyes toward DeSantis's state government.
"We are a state and nation of laws that should be created by elected officials…not appointed professional staff," Albritton said Tuesday, outlining his priorities for the 2025 session. "Florida government is not, and should not, be immune to this kind of scrutiny."
In the House, Perez agreed, telling Representatives that "we're living in an age of disruption."
"Let’s pass actual reforms rather than symbolic gestures; let’s repeal government programs instead of reshuffling them. Let’s swing for the fences and not just try to get on base," he said, before taking a shot at DeSantis's much-paraded sales tax holidays on items like camping gear, back-to-school items, and—the governor hopes—guns and ammo.
"We spend every new dime of recurring revenue while congratulating ourselves for giving easy to fund, non-recurring sales tax holidays," Perez added.
They seemingly responded to DeSantis lauding Florida for its lowest per-capita debt in the nation and the 2024-2025 budget, which provided for less money than the year prior. This was partially due to his line-item vetoes totaling nearly $1 billion, though the Legislature overrode his striking of thousands in legislative support (the first time the legislature has overridden a budget veto in 15 years).
In another departure from the governor, Perez has created a series of House working groups to analyze DeSantis's budget vetoes and decide which ones to try to override.
Albritton and Perez led the rare charge against DeSantis in January, opposing his call for a special session to address illegal immigration. They adjourned the governor's session 15 minutes after it began before starting their own starring a different, Legislature-drafted immigration bill.
Though the measure passed, DeSantis promised to veto it—leading the legislative leaders to engage in week-long discussions to call a third—and final—special session starring a compromise bill. It passed resoundingly, seemingly sealing up the month-long discord throughout the GOP supermajority.
DeSantis last week announced his plan to create a state DOGE task force, mirroring Donald Trump and Elon Musk's new federal agency that hopes to cut thousands of unnecessary positions and save the federal government $2 trillion. The one-year group is expected to disband 70 state boards, audit state universities, and examine local government spending.
The bill creating the task force has yet to be filed.
