Staff Reports
The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday passed a $400 million tax package reduction, absent the direction of Chairman Sen. Tom Lee who was preparing for a noon budget meeting with House counterpart Richard Corcoran.
HB 33A was placed on the Senate Special Order Calendar so it will be on second reading Friday, the end of Week 2 of Special Session A on the budget and health care.
HB 33A establishes a 10-day, back-to-school sales tax holiday as well as lowers the communication services tax on cell phones and television services. The tax package also removes the sales tax on college textbooks for one year.
Meanwhile, the chief budget writers for both chambers will meet at noon Friday. There has been no agreement on how LIP funding will flow to the hospitals or whether to allow Amendment 1 bonding. The Senate is steadfast in its opposition to bonding but House Speaker Steve Crisafulli told the Florida Channel that it makes sense given Amendment 1 is funded through a recurring state tax and the money would be “cheap.”
The chambers have been close to agreement on Low Income Pool funding but haven’t been able to seal the deal. The Legislature agreed to plug in $400 million in recurring general revenue to help offset the loss of $1 billion in Low Income Pool funding. But agreeing to how the money flows has been more challenging, though Sen. Rene Garcia and Rep. Matt Hudson agreed the chambers were on the cusp of reaching agreement Tuesday.
Senate President Andy Gardiner said on Wednesday that the chambers have been using a number of different LIP models or formulas that would meet the federal government’s guidelines on how LIP be spent. But the chambers haven’t agreed on a final formula yet. Additional money for graduate medical education has played a part in the LIP discussions as well.
