It was their job to do, and they did it.

The only thing the Florida Constitution says the Legislature has to do is pass a balanced budget, which they did in 60 days. They were not able to do it.

It was clear that legislature leaders and Gov. Ron DeSantis would fight after a nasty fight in February over immigration that required three extra sessions to pass into law.

At the start of the regular session in March, the leaders of both the Senate and the House worked together while claiming freedom from DeSantis (all Republicans) and making their own plans. That spirit of working together turned into one of certain destruction for both sides in the last few days, as they fought over their different policy and budget priorities.

There are still big disagreements that haven’t been settled. These include how much the state should spend on things like public schools, health care, immigration, and building highways. Also, it’s not clear if Florida residents will get a tax cut or refund.

They will have to go back to Tallahassee later this month to finish making a budget and get it passed before the start of the next fiscal year on July 1. As the regular session closed on Friday, leaders of both the House and the Senate said that the Legislature would meet again on May 12 and work until June 6 to finish a budget and the Senate president’s rural renaissance bill.

They also said they had made a plan for the state budget that would cut taxes by $2.8 billion, with a $1.6 billion cut to the sales tax that would last forever.

Aubrey Jewett, a political science professor at the University of Central Florida, said that the state’s lawmakers have been so stuck in a stalemate in ten years. He thought this mess was like the budget fight over Medicaid expansion in 2015, when Speaker Steve Crisafulli of Merritt Island had to call a special session of the House of Representatives days before it was supposed to end.

It’s because, for the first time in six years, the Legislature is “acting as an independent branch of government as a check and balance on the governor’s office,” Jewett said. There are other factors at play as well.

He said, “They did get a lot more done when Gov. DeSantis was in charge of the legislative branch.” “There are three strong people in this democracy, which makes it more messy.” But most of them agree with each other. Of those Republicans, all of them are conservative and want to cut taxes.

Several things have made the House and Senate less friendly with each other. The House gutted one of Senate President Ben Albritton’s centerpiece bills, the Rural Renaissance Act, and the Senate balked at reinstating lawyers fees that were removed two years ago as part of a tort reform bill to bring down insurance costs.

The Legislature was also busy for a month looking into Hope Florida, first lady Casey DeSantis’s passion project, and the organisation that helps it.

But Jewett said that the budget and taxes have been the main sources of anger this session.

To get rid of property taxes, which DeSantis wants, a constitutional change would have to be put to the voters in November 2026. Economists say that this idea is flawed because property taxes are what keep city, county, and school board budgets going. To make up for the billions of dollars that would be lost, sales taxes would have to be raised or some of the most important government services, like schools, streets, and flood control, would have to be severely cut.