TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida lawmakers are diving into debates over the state budget amid uncertainty over how the ongoing pandemic will affect the next round of revenue projections.
And debate also begins on how to use $10 billion in federal pandemic relief funds.
The often-tedious budget process will dominate the remaining five weeks of the two-month legislative session, even as lawmakers take up scores of other bills left on their agenda.
Gov. Ron DeSantis initially proposed a $96.6 billion budget, which he later amended with $4.1 billion in additional spending drawn from the relief funds. The House includes some of the federal money in its $97.1 billion proposal, while the Senate's $95 billion spending plan does not.
