THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA:
What had looked like a slam dunk, easy finish for the legislative session is starting to look more difficult, with a conference on differing budgets pushed back until after Easter, leaving little time to close out the budget on time. House Speaker Dean Cannon acknowledged the sudden concern publicly on Wednesday in a note to members, laying out the schedule for the rest of the session. The memo closed a bit ominously:
“For purposes of managing your schedules and the expectations of your families, I would advise members not to make plans or firm commitments for the period of time immediately following the scheduled end of session,” he said. The Senate’s top budget negotiator told colleagues Wednesday that budget talks with the House will not begin until after Easter Sunday. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sen. J.D. Alexander, R-Lake Wales, said that despite talks between chamber leaders, the House and Senate remain too far apart to make conference talks useful.
Unfortunately, we’re not quite as far along as we would like to be, Alexander told members of the committee on Wednesday. The president has worked very diligently but we’re not ready to begin conference as yet.