Florida House speaker is right to push for fiscal discipline in budget | Opinion

The Florida legislative session is supposed to end on Friday, and legislators have yet to fulfill their one constitutional duty — pass a state budget.

That means the Legislature will need to work overtime, again. Last year, the Legislature needed 45 extra days to pass the budget, because lawmakers couldn’t agree on tax cuts. This year, the issue is how much to spend.

The House is showing spending restraint and that’s a smart move.

House Speaker Daniel Perez, a Republican from Miami, and Senate President Ben Albritton, a Republican from Wauchula, can’t agree on the total budget. The House’s proposed budget is $113.6 billion, while the Senate’s budget proposal is $115 billion — about a $1.4 billion difference.

Perez’s position is simple: Florida should spend less.

As a fiscal conservative, I agree.

While the difference between the two proposals is roughly 1%, there’s a bigger question than just math. Can the state maintain fiscal discipline, or will it spend with reckless abandon because the money is available?

Perez based his proposal on a review of the state’s three-year financial outlook, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Economists in the state predict a surplus of $3.7 billion this year, but deficits of $8.1 billion over the next two years. Spending an additional $1.4 billion today could mean deeper cuts or higher taxes tomorrow.

“I don’t think I am very flexible on wanting to spend more money,” Perez told reporters.

He’s right not to be flexible.

Spending every dollar isn’t conservative governance. Essential services should be prioritized while resisting the temptation to grow the government.

Anyone who’s lived in South Florida has experienced firsthand the influx of people moving here. That naturally leads to a larger state budget.

But growth doesn’t give lawmakers a blank check.

Miami-Dade County residents saw what happens when the government overspends when it’s flush with cash. Increased property tax revenues and $1 billion of federal COVID funding gave the county commission extra money to spend, and they did. Last year, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava had to find ways to make up a $402 million budget shortfall.

The lesson learned was basic: Once the government budget expands, it’s hard to scale back.

On the state level, Perez appears to want to avoid a similar situation.

When revenues slow — as economists warn they will in Florida — taxpayers will have to make up the difference, either in money or loss of services.

Perez’s caution is warranted. Over $500 million has been spent from Florida’s emergency fund on immigration enforcement — normally the responsibility of the federal government — but Gov. Ron DeSantis promised the federal government would reimburse the state. Florida taxpayers have yet to see a dime.

The difference between the House and Senate proposed budget bills isn’t a lot in a budget of this size, and some Senate priorities — including housing programs, citrus research and state worker raises — sound worthwhile. But good intentions do not mean spending is sustainable. Increasing spending on budget items becomes an entitlement; that’s how government grows regardless of which party is in control.

State law requires the Legislature to adopt a balanced budget before the new fiscal year begins in July. It would be prudent for the Senate to meet the House’s more fiscally fit budget.

Perez’s fiscal restraint is the kind that conservatives should demand from their leaders. The Legislature will eventually reach a compromise, but it must be based on what is sustainable. Taxpayers expect discipline in Tallahassee — not spending sprees.

Floridians shouldn’t have to watch their spending while the Legislature spends like a teenager with their parents’ credit card. After all, the Sunshine State didn’t become a low-tax, high-growth state overnight. It got there through smart fiscal decisions.

Mary Anna Mancuso is a member of the Miami Herald Editorial Board. Her email: mmancuso@miamiherald.com

This story was originally published March 11, 2026 at 5:17 PM.