If legislators hope to adjourn as scheduled on Friday, the Conference Report on the state budget must be published sometime tomorrow (Tuesday) to allow for the constitutionally required 72-hour “cooling off period” before a vote can be taken on the passage of the budget bill. There are several major budget issues that appear to be…
Proposed dramatic changes to the way Florida schools get and use federal Title I funding gained support in the state Senate Appropriations Committee on Monday, paving the way for their likely adoption into law. Sen. Bill Montford, a Tallahassee Democrat who heads the state superintendents association, tried to kill the language, which came from a…
The Senate president and House speaker stepped in Sunday afternoon to take over budget negotiations, with several issues still in play as lawmakers race toward a Tuesday deadline to finish work on a nearly $83 billion spending plan. Talks over the weekend between Senate Appropriations Chairman Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, and House Appropriations Chairman Carlos Trujillo,…