Confused by the State Budgeting Process? So are Senators

Did someone misplace their lawmaker handbook?

The Senate session was riddled with confusion this morning, as some members found themselves befuddled by the process of grafting the Senate and House budgets together in advance of next week's budget conference. The procedural process on the Senate floor today takes House appropriations bills not on the Senate's proposed budget plan and transfers them onto the Senate plan, unchanged.

No substantive action is taken. That's left for the conference sessions next week.

But some senators, especially Larcenia Bullard, D-Miami, were worried that lawmakers would be able to make changes to the House proposals as part of the process. Senate President Jeff Atwater, Sen. J.D. Alexander, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Sen. Alex Villalobos, R-Miami, made assurances that the bills would arrive at conference untouched.

It sounds like some senators need to be doing homework.