Florida House nixes Gov. Ron DeSantis priorities in budget plan

Jeffrey Schweers, Orlando Sentinel on Feb 13, 2026

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Without warning, public debate or coordination with the Senate, the Florida House late Thursday released an austere $113.6 billion spending plan for next year that does not fund key priorities of Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The House’s budget for 2026-27, released while DeSantis was in California participating in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament, slashes the fund the governor used for immigration enforcement, including the building Alligator Alcatraz, the Everglades immigration detention facility, and provides no money for the Florida State Guard, which he revived in 2022 and has been rocked by allegations of mismanagement in recent months.

The House budget comes in at about $4 billion less than the governor’s final spending plan of his tenure and is about $1 billion less than the plan approved last year for the 2025-26 budget year.

A preliminary review of the House plan shows only $100 million going into the emergency preparedness fund managed by DeSantis, with new restrictions on how to use that money. The House wants that money spent only on declared natural disasters and say it cannot be spent on aircraft, boats and motor vehicles. Also, any federal reimbursements cannot go back into the emergency fund but must be returned to the state general fund.

The House plan would also require the governor to report back to the Legislature each year how that money was spent, its remaining fund balance, an inventory of all equipment and assets, and a written statement from the emergency management director, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the report is true, accurate, and complete.

The governor’s office and Division of Emergency Management have come under fire for spending $608 million of that money on immigration enforcement efforts, including the construction of the $573 million tent city facility in the Everglades, with no guarantee of reimbursement from the federal government.

The legislature has given DeSantis $4.7 billion since the inception of the emergency management fund.

The House plan also doesn’t provide any funding for the mostly volunteer Florida State Guard. It has faced allegations by top officers of fraud and mismanagement of funds. DeSantis revived the guard after it had been dormant for 75 years after its creation during World War II and was requesting nearly $63 million for next year.

Its budget has fluctuated since its initial startup of $10 million. It received $107 million its second year to purchase equipment, then was drastically reduced to $19.6 million the following year before rising again to $36.8 million in 2025-26. DeSantis wants $62 million for the coming year.

The House announcement Thursday afternoon caught the Senate off guard, forcing its leaders to scramble to release its version of the state budget today and causing some obvious tension between the two chambers.

“As you are aware, we had been hoping to release our budget proposal in concert with our partners in the House,” Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, said in a memo to state senators Thursday night.

The House and Senate must both agree on a spending plan before sending it to the governor. Last year, the budget process went into overtime as the two chambers fought over sales taxes and the budget wasn’t approved until June.

The original plan was to roll out the budget Feb. 4, but pushed that back to Thursday. The Senate then moved its release date until next week “when it became clear” that the House wasn’t going to release its budget proposals during their committee hearings Thursday.

“The budget is a joint endeavor, and as a sign of mutual respect, and with deference to the House hosting the budget conference this year, our goal had been to coordinate and not move forward in advance of our partners,” Albritton said.

He said the Senate was prepared for flexibility “to maintain a deliberative and transparent process and provide the opportunity for ongoing input from all Senators and their constituents.”

The schedule calls for the Senate Appropriations Committee to release its budget spreadsheets Friday morning, and release the general appropriations act and related bills and amendments in the afternoon. Previously scheduled committee hearings to consider the budget bill will be held Wednesday with a full Senate sitting on the budget next Friday.

The Legislature’s only constitutional duty is to pass a balanced budget.

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