Overtime
This is supposed to be the final week of the Legislative Session, but it won’t. Senate Budget Chair Rob Bradley says they’ll need to go into overtime, if only for a few days.
— While the budget talks are still a work in progress, several major issues were settled over the weekend.
— VISIT FLORIDA will NOT be abolished, thanks (in part) to the coronavirus.
— Teachers and state workers will be getting a pay raise.
— Hundreds of millions of dollars in the state’s affordable housing trust fund will actually be spent on housing, instead of being diverted to other projects.
— House and Senate leaders have also agreed to the Governor’s request for $25 million to help the state fight the coronavirus. The House has backed off its original position to eliminate 500 positions from the Florida Department of Health.
— But there are still plenty of differences that must be worked out, including criminal justice and the environment.
— The latest on Florida Woman: Deputies say a woman was caught inside a Walmart making a nail bomb with materials she took off the shelves.