Florida Legislators Ready To Begin Budget Negotiations
TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) – The state's House and Senate are prepared to begin negotiations Monday night on a roughly $75 billion budget for the fiscal year starting July 1st.
House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, told House members Monday afternoon that a budget conference would start at 6 p.m. He said subcommittees, which work on the details in areas such as education and health and human services, would then start meeting.
Lawmakers need to finish negotiating the budget by April 29th if they hope to end the legislative session as scheduled May 2nd. That is because of a required 72-hour waiting period before lawmakers can vote on the budget.
A document released by the House indicates the state will spend about $27.6 billion in general revenue during the coming year, with the biggest chunk, $14.4 billion, going to education. In addition to general revenue, the budget is funded from sources such as the federal government.
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