Ryan Nicol
The House and Senate are closer to agreeing on planned cuts to the Attorney General’s Office.
In earlier proposals, both chambers sought to eliminate dozens of unfilled jobs that had been open for more than 90 days. But the House was more aggressive, floating a cut of 122 jobs to save more than $9.26 million, while the Senate preferred cutting 91 jobs for a savings of just under $6.95 million.
In the latest House offer, released on Thursday, the House Justice Budget Subcommittee has adopted the Senate’s number of 91 cuts.
However, as negotiations continue with the Senate Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice, that line item is not yet grayed out, meaning it could still be changed.
Nevertheless, the movement suggests that the chambers are making progress.
The planned cuts represent the latest salvo in what’s been a frosty relationship in the few months since James Uthmeier took over as Florida’s Attorney General.
The former Chief of Staff for Gov. Ron DeSantis has been caught in the crossfire of the House’s probe into Hope Florida. Lawmakers, including Republicans, are raising questions about a $67 million settlement between Centene and Hope Florida for Medicaid overbilling.
The Hope Florida Foundation, the charitable arm of the First Lady’s Hope Florida initiative, received $10 million of that money, which was then diverted to two committees. Those committees then donated millions to a political committee chaired by Uthmeier while he was Chief of Staff, which was designed to suppress support for last year’s ballot initiative to legalize recreational pot.
Uthmeier has defended the money trail, but he has faced criticism from lawmakers investigating the matter.
Uthmeier’s Office is now facing potential staffing cuts, part of pushes by the chambers to back other cuts for positions left unfilled for more than 90 days in other budget silos.
The Senate and House remain about $5 million apart in overall funding for the Department of Legal Affairs, with the Senate offering $346.58 million and the House preferring $351.67 million.
