TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) — Most lawmakers packed up and headed home last week, but with no final budget just yet, budget chairs are hunkered down in Tallahassee to finish the work.

Over a month has passed since the original May 2 budget deadline, and frustration over the extended process remains. The governor acknowledged the delays on Monday at a press conference in Crawfordville.

“Everyone just kind of, you know, waits by the state capital. It’s almost like you know the Vatican, you have the white smoke, when is the budget? Do we have a budget?” DeSantis quipped.

State senators are hopeful that negotiations will wrap up soon.

“We’re hot and heavy still over in the Capitol trying to get it done,” State Sen. Corey Simon (R-Tallahassee) said.

While House members express concerns over where budget cuts will fall.

“There have to be cuts if we’re going to save money. And that was the proposal, to not spend all the money that we have here in the state of Florida,” State Rep. Dianne Hart (D-Tampa) said. “There’s got to be some cuts, and where are they going to be? None of us know.”

However, leadership in the House and Senate defended the slow-moving budget process, saying it takes discipline to stop recurring spending, given unpredictable economic pressures on the national stage.

“What I would suggest is this is a very balanced approach,” Senate President Ben Albritton (R-Wauchula) said. “Is it going to be perfect? No, ma’am. Nobody can do that. None of you. I can’t. There’s never been anybody that could predict the future in a perfect way outside of God Almighty himself.”
“I think the legislature definitely accomplished their goal, which was to stop recurring spending and move forward in a fiscally conservative manner,” House Speaker Danny Perez (R-Miami) said.

While the governor has criticized state leaders for the budget delays, he also touts the reduction in overall state spending.
“I think when this budget is finished, I think we’re going to end up spending even less next year, while hopefully still being able to do the things that people really want us to do,” DeSantis said.

There’s talk at the statehouse that budget chairs may have a final product for lawmakers to vote on this week, but for now, the June 18 deadline remains.