The long-delayed end of the 2015 legislative process drew into view Thursday, as lawmakers prepared to pass a budget for the year that begins July 1 and leave Tallahassee after a nearly three-week special session.

In the House, members sparred over the spending plan ahead of a final vote Friday. While a 72-hour "cooling off" period prevented them from actually approving the budget until Friday evening, the chamber went ahead and finished off debate over the $78.7 billion plan.

Unlike the 2015 regular session which ended in collapse, the special session morphed into redemption for many lawmakers who returned to the scene of the crime June 1 to do some serious work and burn midnight oil.