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2017-18 state budget - page 8

Talks stalled, House schedules committee review of continuation budget

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The House Appropriations Committee will meet Tuesday morning to consider a “standard operating budget,” pending progress in negotiations with the Senate over spending priorities for the fiscal year that begins July 1. House Speaker Richard Corcoran announced the move in a note to House members Monday evening. He acted after Senate President Joe Negron rejected a House proposal to enact a “continuation budget” maintaining spending more or less at existing levels. “The purpose of this meeting is to consider a…

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Legislature at stalemate over new state budget

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With time running out in this year’s regular session, Florida’s legislative leaders are at a stalemate over a new state budget and are starting to lash out at one another over the breakdown. The first but crucial round of negotiations between the House and Senate fell apart on Sunday. The session is scheduled to end on May 5, but state law requires that all work on the budget be finished 72 hours ahead of a final vote. The lack of…

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Joe Negron says no to House’s proposed ‘continuation budget’ as talks stall

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Senate President Joe Negron has rejected a House proposal to settle some $4 billion in state budget disagreements with a “continuation budget.” Negron said in a memo to senators Monday that House negotiators made the proposal over the weekend. “Despite serving as the Appropriations chair in both the House and Senate, I had never encountered this term in state government until it began to appear in these negotiations,” Negron wrote. “I understand the concept of a ‘continuation budget’ to be…

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Appropriations chiefs sound hopeful as clock ticks on state budget negotiations

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With two weeks and change remaining in the 2017 Legislative Session, House and Senate budget leaders are professing optimism that they can resolve their differences and adjourn on time May 5. House Appropriations Chairman Carlos Trujillo — and Jack Latvala, his Senate counterpart — both said Thursday they hope to begin formal budget conference negotiations soon. “We have to. If not, we’re running out of time,” Trujillo told reporters. The process is driven by “just the natural timetable for sine…

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Rick Scott pushes ahead for VISIT FLORIDA funding

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Gov. Rick Scott went once more unto the breach Tuesday, pressing his case for full funding of the state’s VISIT FLORIDA tourism marketing agency. The Republican governor—surrounded by VISIT FLORIDA’s CEO Ken Lawson, board chairman William Talbert, and others—spoke with reporters outside his Capitol office. The GOP-majority House of Representatives, which at first wanted to eliminate the agency, instead reduced its budget to $25 million for next year. Scott wants $100 million to market the state to visitors, saying every dollar…

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State economists expect an additional 1,700 PreK-12 students next year

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House and Senate budget negotiators who’ll begin conference negotiations next week will have to account for more than 1,700 additional students, state economists concluded Friday. That may not sound like a lot in the context of the more than 2.8 million kids enrolled in the PreK-12 system. Still, it adds up to nearly $12.3 million under the least generous formula pending in the Legislature. “At this point, any difference is painful to them,” Amy Baker, head of the Office of…

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Trump administration comes to the rescue as Senate approves its budget

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The Trump administration’s pledge of $1.5 million to pay hospitals for charity care came as the Senate — which was counting on the money — debated its budget plan for 2017-18. Appropriations Chairman Jack Latvala announced the development Wednesday on the Senate floor, saying Gov. Rick Scott had delivered the news during a telephone call. “Thank you very much for that news from the governor,” Senate President Joe Negron said. “It will be taken into consideration as we continue to work…

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Legislative committee week cancelled

Senate President Joe Negron and House Speaker Richard Corcoran have cancelled next week’s legislative committee week because of Hurricane Irma, they

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