Florida lawmakers head into budget talks to bridge $1.4B gap

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Negotiators from the Florida House and Senate worked through the weekend to begin reconciling a $1.4 billion chasm in their respective spending plans, but on Saturday appeared to be making substantial progress in narrowing that gap.

Going into the weekend, key policy decisions about boosting teacher salaries and giving state employee raises appeared to have been resolved, even if specific numbers have yet to be finalized.

“As the offers roll out, I think you’ll see that there is very little daylight between the two sides,” Senate Appropriations Chair Rob Bradley told reporters.

State workers will be getting 3% across-the-board raises, while teachers also will be getting a boost in pay, as part of a plan by Gov. Ron DeSantis to raise the minimum starting salary of new teachers to at least $47,500 a year.

House and Senate budget negotiators appeared to be settling on $500 million to bump up pay for the state’s lowest-paid teachers.

The governor had requested $600 million to raise minimum salaries, and another $300 million for a teacher bonus program.

The teachers union welcomed the increase in education spending but had balked at the bonus programming, saying the money should be for across-the-board raises — an approach favored by key budget negotiators.

“We’re not going to do bonuses. It’s going to be money in the pockets of teachers in the form of salaries. The specific numbers we’re going to continue to work on in conference,” Bradley said.

The House had allocated $650 million, while the Senate proposed $500 million.

Lawmakers still have dozens of bills to consider, some politically vexing, but the budget stands as the biggest hurdle in the Legislature’s race to adjourn.

With the end of the session looming, lawmakers were under pressure to finalize a budget they can send to Gov. Ron DeSantis for his signature. The Florida Legislature was scheduled to adjourn by Friday, but key officials acknowledged that the work in hammering out a budget might extend beyond the 60 days they are usually accorded.

There was some urgency to some budget items, including a $25 million request from the governor to help the state respond to a new form of coronavirus that has killed thousands worldwide and has begun to strike fear in the United States.

On Friday, state health officials announced that two Floridians had died.

“We feel confident the House and Senate, and our leadership, will meet that to properly care for Floridians and protect them,” said Rep. Travis Cummings, the lead negotiator for the House.

In a key victory for housing advocates, lawmakers also included $370 million for an affordable housing trust fund, which pays for state and local housing programs.

In recent years, money from the Sadowski Affordable Housing Trust Fund had been routinely swept into the state’s general fund.

Rep. Kionne L. McGhee, the House Democratic Leader, hailed the funding as an important step “to address the lack of affordable housing in our state.”

His office said it was the first time since 2007 that the Legislature did not siphon away any of the Sadowski money.

The Sadowski Coalition, a nonpartisan group of 32 statewide organizations, expressed hope that it wold end the funding sweeps.

“We are relieved to have the Sadowski program funding put to use for Florida’s lower-paid workforce, seniors and special needs populations living on fixed incomes,” said Jaimie Ross, president of the Florida Housing Coalition.

Although key agreements have already been reached, budget negotiators acknowledged that many other differences remain.

Those differences include funding for Florida Forever, the state’s land preservation program.

The program has historically gotten about $300 million in annual funding. In recent years, however, Florida Forever has received much less. In fact, the House set aside $20 million — far below the $125 million the Senate favored and lower than the $100 million DeSantis requested.

In all, the House had proposed a $91.4 billion spending plan — slightly less than the governor’s request but lower than the Senate proposal of $92.8 billion.

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This story has corrected the headline to say billion, not million.