Bang for the buck

For the Legislature, passing a budget is always job one. It's the only thing they are required by the state's constitution to put on the governor's desk. But the bills that were passed suggest that the economy was job two this session.

And while they “only” passed 238 bills entering the extended week to adopt the budget — less than half of what's been done in recent past sessions — legislators maintained a cohesive enough focus to pave a path toward economic recovery.

Indicative of the bills designed to spur the economy is one that came out of the Senate Select Committee on Florida's Economy, which according to its chairman, Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Ft. Walton Beach, puts the state in a position to get about $200 million in federal tax credits and about $600 million in private investments through the Florida New Markets Development Program.