The Florida Senate unanimously adopted procedural amendments and advanced several House conforming bills to conference, including the sales-tax reduction conforming bill that senators said will serve as the vehicle for a larger tax package.

Senators adopted delete-all amendments on multiple House bills to “get the bill in proper posture for conference,” a routine procedural step that in these cases inserted no new substantive language. The bills acted on the floor included a House conforming bill on state group insurance, a House conforming bill on the Capitol Center, and a sales-tax reduction conforming bill. Senators repeatedly used delete-all amendments from the Committee on Appropriations and then read the underlying bills a third time before unanimous roll calls.

Senator Russon explained the House conforming bill on state group insurance; Senator Hassan explained a delete-all amendment on another bill as a means to ready the bill for conference. For the sales-tax matter, Senator Hooper said the amendment “expands the relating to clause to taxation because this bill will be the vehicle for the tax package.” After the Senate adopted the amendment and read the bill a third time, the secretary recorded 32 yeas and 0 nays.

Following those passages, several senators moved that the Senate accede to the House’s request to include the measures in conference. By unanimous consent, the motions were adopted and the bills were sent toward conference negotiations. The on-floor actions were procedural and did not themselves enact changes to policy; the delete-all amendments as described on the floor inserted nothing and were intended to align language for negotiations with the House.