Jim Rosica
Now the horse-trading begins.
The Florida Senate on Thursday unanimously passed its $80 billion budget 40-0, setting up the conference process where legislators grind out a budget each year.
Both sides of the aisle united to pass the spending plan, though some Democrats still raised concerns. Jeff Clemens of Lake Worth, for instance, suggested extra money would be better used for education, rather than tax cuts.
Audrey Gibson of Jacksonville again objected to a new competitive grants program to fund after-school mentoring programs. The budget includes a $30 million pot of money for nonprofit groups to apply for.
Saying lawmakers were “treading on dangerous ground,” she pointed out that the proviso language doesn’t call for any special qualifications for members of the grants committee who will pick winners and losers.
Appropriations Chairman Tom Lee, a Brandon Republican, addressed those who griped about funding for specific interests.
“We can’t get down here on the floor and break the piggy bank,” he said. “We need to show some restraint” alluding to a softening economy.
The House and Senate take turns hosting the budget process: The Senate is the 2016-17 host.
Joint budget conference committees now will be formed for each budget area, such as education, to hammer out the differences between the two chambers.
Spending decisions that can’t be agreed upon will be “bumped” up to the Senate budget chief Lee and his House counterpart, state Rep. Richard Corcoran, a Land O’ Lakes Republican.
After the final product goes to all 160 lawmakers, there’s a 72-hour wait before the final vote so the public can peruse what’s in it.
