After 10 Glorious Years, Sunshine State News and I Are Passing the Baton

The Florida Legislature has adjourned the 2011 regular legislative session after the Senate reconvened in an early morning session to pass a tax relief bill after a rift with the House.

The 2011 regular legislative session has been extended to 6 p.m. Saturday, as a rift between the House and the Senate over budget conforming bills has sent the session into overtime. The Senate voted down three budget conforming bills earlier Friday evening, which were panned in turn by the House. The Senate has subsequently passed the final budget and overturned their vote on some of the conforming bills.

As the Florida Senate prepared to debate the 2011-2012 budget, its leader, Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, waltzed into the press gallery for an exchange with reporters. He defended the current budget proposal, which came in at $69.7 billion, an $850 million cut from the current budget and a $4 billion increase from the proposal released by Gov. Rick Scott in February. Haridopolos has consistently stated his focus on cutting spending without raising taxes, and he noted that the budget includes $308 million in business and property tax cuts.

Back in February, Gov. Rick Scott spoke at a tea party event in Eustis and unveiled his proposed $65.8 billion budget, which he claimed would give $2 billion back to Floridas taxpayers. On Friday, in his weekly radio address, Scott declared victory as the Legislature was ready to pass a $69.7 billion budget closer to the one that then-Gov. Charlie Crist signed into law last year than the one released in Eustis.