Lawmakers Near $1 Billion Deficit Reduction Deal
POSTED: Wednesday, January 7, 2009
UPDATED: 3:37 pm EST January 8,
2009
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The Florida House is debating a budget-reduction package that includes nearly $1 billion in spending cuts for schools, health care and other state functions.The chamber began considering the plan Thursday and will vote Friday. The Senate will follow with floor action on its version Friday. Lawmakers then will work on resolving differences between the two before taking final votes next week.Lawmakers are meeting in a special session called to deal with an impending deficit of at least $2.3 billion in the current budget year due to a shortfall in tax collections resulting from the nation's sagging economy.Besides spending cuts, both plans would tap reserves, shift funds among programs, increase traffic fines, and borrow from trust funds including an endowment that invests the state's tobacco settlement funds for future use on health care programs for children and the elderly.
Previous Stories:
- January 6, 2009: Partisan Sniping Erupts Over Florida Budget Deficit
- January 5, 2009: Lawmakers Get To Work On $2.3B Budget Deficit
- December 16, 2008: Special Session To Address Budget Deficit
- December 2, 2008: State Mulls Raising Cigarette Taxes
- November 15, 2008: State Budget Cuts Exhausting School Reserve Funds
- November 6, 2008: New House Leader Expects Florida Deficit To Grow
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Authorities release a chilling 911 call from a 19-year-old woman who hid in the back bedroom of a Central Florida home while four men attempted to break into the house.
An ex-wife of the man who found the remains of Caylee Anthony says that she thought her ex-husband was responsible for or involved in the girl's death.
Officials question the credibility of a female deputy who called 911 in September to report a masked man had attacked her.
John Travolta and his family made their first public appearance in their adopted Florida hometown since his son's death, helping raise thousands of dollars for charity at a screening of the actor's new comedy Friday night.
Dashcam video shows a Florida woman offering an officer sex instead of getting a ticket.
South Carolina police say an obese man died after not moving from his recliner for the past eight months. Police say the man's body was physically stuck to the chair and firefighters had to cut him out. He died a few hours later at the hospital.
A Nebraska man says romance turned to revenge when he was victimized by his girlfriend and then exposed on Facebook. 
A woman tired of hearing her son say he lost another sock has come up with an idea to prevent it from happening again.
It really works! An Iowa man makes a Halloween costume that switches from robot to truck in seconds.
Thirty Victoria's Secret supermodels take over New York's Times Square this week.
Take a quick look at the flicks headed to your multiplex. Check out the trailer, too.
Get your daily dose of the cute and unusual right here.
It's something for everyone: A slideshow of wild stories where you have the choice of watching the video clip at your workstation -- or not! 
Email Alerts
RSS News Feeds
Mobile
Live Streams
Slideshows
Video
Search
