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Tom Lee - page 26

House, Senate call special session and it’s wide open on health care, budget

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Nine days after announcing the dates the Florida Legislature issued the proclamation for the special session. The call is wide open, including Medicaid expansion, elimination of certificate of need law, direct primary care, state group health insurance changes and the budget and conforming bills and tax relief. As previously announced the session will run from June 1-20. “At this time, budget allocations have not been agreed to by the President and the Speaker, but will be reached before the beginning…

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What will Rick Scott do with the base budget he’s developing?

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Gov. Rick Scott sent a memo to his agencies on Thursday asking them to compile a list of services people cannot lose and identifying what would be funded in a pared back budget he’s developing for the upcoming year. Scott has refused to directly answer, though, whether he’ll be submitting the information he compiles with the Florida Legislature for consideration when it goes into a special budget session, now tentatively scheduled for  June 1-20. “The Legislature drafts the budget, but this…

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Rick Scott tells his agencies to prepare a list of ‘critical needs’ in case of government shutdown

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Florida agencies are being asked to compile a list of critical services that people “cannot lose” by Monday and submit them to the governor’s office to help prepare a budget for the upcoming 2015-16 year. Scott sent a memo out to agency heads identifying a list of critical services that the Office of Planning and Budgeting has identified for the upcoming year, beginning July 1. Those services include increased funding for K-12 enrollment; Medicaid caseload increase; a Department of Transportation…

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Budget details emerge after top lawmakers meet informally in Tallahassee

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After an acrimonious and abrupt ending to this year’s session, Florida legislative leaders are beginning to finally piece together a framework for a new state budget and avoid a possible state government shutdown. Some of that framework was discussed in an all-day meeting Wednesday between state Sen. Tom Lee and state Rep. Richard Corcoran. Gov. Rick Scott for more than a week has pushed the idea of a “base” continuation budget but Senate Appropriations Chairman Lee told Florida Politics on Wednesday night that…

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Top Florida legislators work on budget deal

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Although no deal was reached, Sen. Tom Lee, a Brandon Republican, said that a “fair amount of progress” was made during the discussions between the House and Senate budget chiefs at the Capitol. “It was super productive,” said Rep. Richard Corcoran, a Land O’Lakes Republican. “I think today we moved the ball down the field tremendously. We are moving to resolution.” The pressure is mounting for legislators to reach a budget deal. State government could be shut down if a…

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Takeaways from Tallahassee, er, St. Augustine

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The picture to the right is of the dock in front of the beach house the Griswolds, err, the Schorsches are vacationing at this week. This was supposed to be a recuperative, post-session retreat, and while it has been an enjoyable time here in St. Augustine, it feels like just a break before the next wave crashes. Here are my Takeaways from Tallahassee, er, St. Augustine. — If I had to revise my list of Winners and Losers emerging from…

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Tom Lee calls out Ritch Workman for comments involving his family

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Lawmakers left the statehouse last week amid a stream of insults and without a budget in place for the fiscal year that begins in July. Most observers seemed to think time away from Tallahassee would lower the temperature in the room and allow budget work to begin but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Senate Appropriations Chair Tom Lee is taking exception to comments House Rules Chair Ritch Workman made in the media about an alimony reform bill left dead on the special order calendar…

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