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Ryan RayMarch 7, 2016

The Budget Conference Chairs held their final meeting Monday night, finalizing all remaining differences between House and Senate proposals and approving “supplemental funding issues” paid for with money from what is informally known as the “bill pot” or more informally still as — sprinkle money. Chair Rep. Richard Corcoran and Vice Chair Sen. Tom Lee wrote into the budget a mixture […]

Peter SchorschMarch 7, 2016

Multiple outlets reported over the weekend that budget conferees effectively killed a line item to “refresh” the state’s inventory of law enforcement radios furnished by the Brevard County vendor Harris Corp. The issue has been the subject of what Senate budget chief Tom Lee called a “vendor fist fight” between Harris – which holds a lucrative 20-year state […]

Ryan RayMarch 6, 2016

A key legislative budget committee met for the second time Sunday and hashed out previously unresolved conflicts on state education funding, including some $700 million in cash and bonding for construction for K-12 and higher education institutions. The inclusion of money from bonds is something Gov. Rick Scott – a budget hawk who loathes debt – opposes. […]

Ryan RayMarch 4, 2016

Legislative budget writers met Friday evening to take up another pair of unreconciled budget areas – Transportation & Economic Development and Civil & Criminal Justice – and came to a final agreement, closing out millions in funding items in a multibillion dollar move when the House and Senate accepted each others’ offers. Among the most […]

Peter SchorschMarch 4, 2016

As the Legislature’s “big chairs” meet this weekend to try to take the 2016-17 state budget in for a landing, there are few issues more pressing and in the public eye than fixing Florida’s ailing Department of Corrections and prison system in general. The department has gained a reputation for cutting corners in a way that […]

Ryan RayMarch 3, 2016

In a swift 15-minute meeting Thursday night, the full bicameral Budget Conference Committee closed out all remaining differences in the chambers’ massive health care and general government budget silos, swapping tens of millions of dollars and making significant progress towards reconciling their respective $80-plus billion proposals. “We could go huddle up for 30 seconds and […]

Peter SchorschMarch 3, 2016

It’s hard to criticize Florida’s safety net hospitals. They are the last-resort centers that provide medical care to uninsured or under-insured people. Who could argue against doing everything possible for such a deserving cause, right? But with those hospitals screaming about a proposed state funding formula, maybe we should all take a moment to catch our breath and […]

Peter SchorschMarch 2, 2016

An amendment put forward by Sen. Bill Galvano would turn over the state’s budget for medically complex children to one company: Miami-based Caregiver Services, Inc. The proviso language would allow the Agency for Health Care Administration to contract with a provider service network offering specialty plans that cover children who are eligible for the state’s Medicaid program. Though seemingly innocent, the amendment relies […]

Ryan RayFebruary 29, 2016

The Agriculture & Natural Resources Appropriations/General Government Appropriations conference committee held their final meeting of the 2016 Session on Monday, but the late-evening meeting did not bring final closure on several unresolved line items. The House and Senate proposals remained just $6 million apart in terms of bottom-line figures – out of a mammoth $2.7 billion […]

Ryan RayFebruary 27, 2016

The conference committee on the state justice budget appeared Saturday afternoon to be going smoothly, with the House accepting the Senate position on more than two dozen line items, but making different offers on many others. In all the differences totaled nearly $10 million, about $5 million of that in recurring general revenue dollars and some $5 million […]

Tag: 2016-17 state budget
Mike Johnson. Image via AP.

Lawmakers close out budget with $123 million in new projects

Funds for police radios nixed in budget conference? Not so fast

State budget writers settle up on school construction funding

Budget writers close out TED, justice budget silos

Don’t cut corners on Dept. of Corrections health funding

House and Senate close out health care, general gov’t budget silos

Why are Safety Net Hospitals crying foul over $134 million in new funding?

Last-minute budget move would grant Miami firm health sector monopoly

Ag & Natural Resources budget panel wraps up talks

Justice budgets growing closer together, though $10 million in differences remain