Ben Albritton says there is still time to pass budget amid Session criticism from Republicans, Democrats

Senate President Ben Albritton says he is not alarmed that lawmakers are leaving on Sine Die without a budget as both Democrats and Republicans have criticized the Legislature’s paralysis and priorities.

The 60-day Regular Session is over and lawmakers are expected to return in April to continue budget talks.

“That’s not the end of the world,” Albritton told reporters Friday afternoon. “There’s still plenty of time to be able to get the budget accomplished, to make sure that it’s fair, equitable, all the things that you want a state budget to have before July 1.”

July 1 is the start of the new fiscal year, and state priorities remain funded through June 30.

Albritton said he was “encouraged” by the Senate’s talks with the House regarding the new spending plan.

“We’re two separate chambers, but I still believe that we’re going to get the plane landed,” Albritton said.

Both sides of the aisle have complained about the 2026 Legislative Session.

“This session has been a failure,” House Democratic Caucus Leader Fentrice Driskell said in a statement. “The GOP controls the House, Senate, and Governor’s Office, and yet they could not stop fighting long enough to do anything serious to help Florida’s working families and seniors struggling to afford to make ends meet. Simply put, Florida is becoming too expensive for too many Floridians.

Sen. Don Gaetz, who served as Senate President from 2012-14, told reporters earlier, “I think we ought to be embarrassed. I think it’s a shame. And as Republicans — we have Republican Governor, Republican House, and a Republican Senate — we don’t have any Democrats to argue with anymore.”

Gaetz also wrote in his newsletter Friday that “the 2026 session of the Florida Legislature ended with a whimper.”

When asked about those comments, Albritton called Gaetz a “good man” and a confidant, then insisted “there’s still plenty of time to get this thing right.”

The Senate passed one of Gaetz’s bills to reform the taxpayer-funded private school voucher program following a critical state audit. On the Senate floor, Gaetz warned every week that the Florida Department of Education can’t account for 30,000 students for whom taxpayers are paying.

Gaetz’s bill (SB 318) died in the House after the Senate unanimously passed it in January.

“I wouldn’t characterize that as mismanagement,” Albritton said when asked about the failed bill Friday. “The way I characterize that is we made a huge leap into empowering families in the state of Florida with the money following the child. The system is not set up perfectly for that process to work. I wouldn’t call it mismanagement. I would call it, the system needs tweaking.”

Gaetz was more direct.

“The big hole in legislative performance is the failure to attack serious policy issues and enact solutions taxpayers, schools and communities need,” he wrote in his newsletter Friday.

For Albritton, one of his personal priorities also fell short — a comprehensive Rural Renaissance bill to address everything from education, health care, roads, economic development and more for rural areas. Again, the Senate passed it in January but the House refused to move it.

“I wish that it had made it,” said Albritton, a fourth-generation farmer, when asked about his feelings about his agenda item.

He acknowledged that a big piece of legislation sometimes “just takes time.”

“But I will tell you that at least in the Florida Senate, and I believe really across Florida, the conversation about rural Florida is just beginning,” Albritton said. “I’m glad that God gave me this platform to be able to do such a thing. And I’m very hopeful for the future for rural Florida.”