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Florida Legislature stalls over budget disagreements. Again.

With five days left in its regular 60-day session, the Florida Legislature has yet to do the one thing required by the state constitution — pass a balanced budget. Missing deadline will mean the Legislature will go into extra innings as it did last year.

And it looks like the atmosphere of distrust created over last year’s budget disagreements is still evident, as some of the top items being pushed by legislative leaders and Gov. Ron DeSantis — all Republicans — seem unlikely to cross the finish line.

The Legislature is bogged down in a bottleneck of bills and even key GOP priorities like finding a way to cut property taxes, haven’t cleared both chambers.

To get a budget approved by Friday, both chambers have to agree on a spending plan by Tuesday to allow for a required 72-hour cooling off period before they can take a final vote.

“We are not getting close enough, and it is looking tough for us to end on time,” House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, told reporters this week. The two chambers “have a fundamental disagreement on what the budget should look like for the state of Florida,” Perez said.

Florida's House Speaker says some Senate priority bills won't be heard in his chamber

Florida's regular legislative session is scheduled to end in one week, but official budget negotiations haven't even started. This likely means an extended session or a special session to finish the only job constitutionally required of lawmakers.

We've also seen some priority bills pass the Senate while getting no discussion in the House.

First, the House and Senate are about a billion and a half dollars apart on their state budget proposals.

"We have a fundamental disagreement on what the budget should look like for the state of Florida."

And for that reason, House Speaker Daniel Perez told reporters at the Capitol this week it's looking less likely that lawmakers will end the session on time.

"The House believes we should spend less money. The Senate believes we should spend more money. I am concerned with the future of the state of Florida. The three-year outlook is important to me. I want to make sure that future legislatures have the flexibility that I have had to make the right decision," Perez said. "I don't think that I am very flexible on wanting to spend more money."

Florida officials urge residents to cut back on water use as drought worsens

Growing drought conditions have state officials issuing a severe water shortage declaration and “Phase II” for most of North Florida and other areas.

The St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) issued the declaration for Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam and St. Johns counties. The move is an indicator of the increasingly dry conditions following a cold Winter and frosts that damaged vegetation with little rain.

The Phase II declaration from the SJRWMD means residential landscape irrigation remains limited to one day per week until further notice. It’s designed to reduce demand and help stabilize water resources in the region during the drought.

“Water conservation plays an important role in protecting our aquifer and maintaining reliable service for our community,” said Neal Shinkre, Director of the St. Johns County Utilities Department. “Small actions like adjusting irrigation schedules, checking irrigation systems for leaks, and watering only when necessary can make a meaningful difference during dry periods.”

Gas prices have soared 60 cents a gallon in South Florida. What’s next?

Gas prices have soared over the past week in South Florida and across the state.

In Florida, the average price per gallon is up more than 60 cents from a week ago. In the Miami area, prices jumped 56 cents a gallon.

And oil analysts expect prices to surge even higher later this week.

“In just a week, consumers have seen gasoline prices surge at one of the fastest rates in years after oil prices spiked following U.S. strikes on Iran and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “With additional attacks across the Middle East over the weekend pushing oil above $100 per barrel for the first time in years, fuel markets are now rapidly recalibrating to the risk of prolonged disruption to global supply flows.”

Miami-area prices are 60 cents a gallon higher than a month ago and 47 cents higher than a year ago, according to GasBuddy, a national fuel monitoring service that surveys nearly 1,700 stations in South Florida.