Florida Legislature Sends Budget to Scott

Randall Weiseman Ag "Outdoors", Cattle, Citrus, Field Crops, Florida, Forestry, General, Livestock, Nursery Crops, Seeds, Specialty Crops

THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

The Legislature sent the proposed budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 to Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday, giving him 15 days to determine whether to sign the bill and which projects to strike if he does. The $74.5 billion spending blueprint would boost pay for teachers and state employees, repay $300 million that lawmakers had drained from university reserves last year and set aside money for projects large and small, including $70 million to help restore the Everglades. It would also increase university tuition by 3 percent, something that Scott seems unlikely to approve given his repeated insistence on holding down the costs of higher education, and hold about $2.8 billion in reserve. Scott will have to make his final decisions by May 24.