Lawmakers said how much goes to each program could fluctuate based on the final agreement.
“We look forward to allocating that based upon our discussions, but I do believe that they’ll be consistent with what has previously been presented, and that is almost 50-50,” said Sen. David Simmons, an Altamonte Springs Republican who chairs the Senate education budget panel.
Across the state budget, now expected to weigh in at nearly $83 billion, negotiating committees worked to hammer out their remaining differences to beat a looming deadline. Because of a constitutionally required 72-hour “cooling off” period, the spending plan has to be finished by Tuesday to finish the legislative session on May 5, as scheduled.
The House announced it wouldn’t meet as a full body Monday as leaders try to negotiate final details.
Elsewhere, House and Senate negotiators agreed to reduce Medicaid hospital rates by about $651 million, but the proposal did not account for money that hospitals are expected to receive through the Low Income Pool program.
