Budget Chairs Optimistic Fiscal Plan to be Ready for Printing Monday

Negotiations over hospital funding, along with some other health and human services issues, may need to be resolved later today by the chairs of the House and Senate budgets.

Otherwise, Sen. J.D. Alexander, R-Lake Wales, and his budget counterpart in the House, Rep. Denise Grimsley, R-Sebring, said the budget talks between the chambers have been making progress that should be easier to resolve this weekend.

Alexander expressed optimism to the Senate Friday that they should be able to wrangle any differences in the separate approximately $70 billion fiscal plans by Monday, which could keep the fiscal plan on schedule to go before both chambers late next week.

The state requires a cooling-off period between the printing of the proposed final budget and its adoption.

Grimsley and Alexander are expected to hold their first meeting on the negotiated budgets Friday night.The talks are expected to continue through the weekend.

Most conference committees have been meeting regularly since Tuesday and making significant progress, Grimsley told the House Friday morning.