TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – With the 2025 Legislative Session set to wrap up on May 2, Rep. Berny Jacques said the top priority in the final days is making sure they fulfill obligations to taxpayers and pass a balanced budget.
In an interview with Florida’s Voice Radio host Drew Steele, Jacques outlined where things stand and what comes next in the budget process.
“The biggest thing we have to do—actually, the only thing we have to do, constitutionally—is pass the state budget,” Jacques said.
He explained that the Legislature will soon enter the “conference” phase, where House and Senate leaders compare budget proposals and reconcile differences to produce a unified spending plan.
“Soon, we’ll be getting into what’s called conference, where we would compare the House budget numbers and the Senate budget numbers and reconcile them to make sure that we have the same alignment and to pass a unified budget to get it on the governor’s desk,” Jacques said.
Jacques represents part of Pinellas County, but emphasized the importance of being fiscally responsible to taxpayers statewide. He stressed that lawmakers are committed to using tax dollars wisely, but also want to deliver on issues important to Floridians.
“We will not neglect those priorities. But we also want to make sure that we’re not wasting your money up there in Tallahassee,” he said.