Pushing Uphill

Economic development, insurance, education reform, renewable energy and health issues are just some of the priorities Gulf Coast legislators are focused on this legislative session in Tallahassee.

Then there's the little matter of the state budget with a $3.2 billion gap to fill that has House and Senate appropriations committees combing through the budget line by line to eek out savings.

“It's not pretty; it's painful, very painful,” House Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, told a Florida hospitals group visiting the capital March 8. Cretul has instructed committees to set aside non-mandated line items temporarily, to prioritize the top 10-15 items, and identify 10-15 other line items to put “at the bottom of the silo.”