House, Senate pass budgets at odds on prisons, COLA, more
The House and Senate have passed their preferred budgets off their floors. But major differences remain on capital improvements for prisons and state worker retirement benefits to be resolved in formal talks between the chambers later in the Regular Session.
The House budget is $115.5 billion, with the Senate version coming in at $392 million more. The funding is less than the $117 billion current budget, but House leaders have warned of the need to pull back on spending in the face of federal stimulus from the COVID-19 era being phased out and revenue growth declining.
The House spending plan (HB 5001) passed 112-2, with only Reps. Bruce Antone, an Orlando Democrat, and Angie Nixon, a Jacks...
