Lawmakers have $83B budget outline, but details not settled

TALLAHASSEE — Lawmakers have a broad agreement on a roughly $83 billion state budget, Senate President Joe Negron confirmed Wednesday, but final details still have to be ironed out.

House priorities such as avoiding a property tax increase and spending $200 million for charter schools are included, along with Negron’s priorities of increasing funding for higher education and Bright Futures Scholarships and his plan to buy land south of Lake Okeechobee for a reservoir to hold polluted water.

Negron and House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’Lakes, are still haggling over the final details, Negron said, but he wouldn’t provide specifics on the remaining differences. After an agreement on top-line budget numbers is reached, the chambers can begin formal talks to complete the budget. Lawmakers have until Tuesday to produce a final budget to end the legislative session on time.

“I think that we’ve reached an agreement on the substance of the budget, and I think we also have reached agreement on a way that we can get to conference [formal budget talks],” Negron said.

Meanwhile, Gov. Rick Scott lashed out at lawmakers Wednesday about a tentative budget deal that leaves Visit Florida, the state’s tourism promotion group, funded at $25 million — a $51 million cut from the current budget.

“Lawmakers cannot be shortsighted at the expense of Florida families by cutting funds for tourism marketing and economic development. I would be absolutely shocked if politicians in the Florida Legislature put their self-interests before the interests of our families and small businesses,” Scott said in a statement.

Scott is currently in Argentina on a trade mission and is set to return today. He has repeatedly