The Florida House held a marathon session to pass its budget on Thursday. Unlike the Senate’s $69.5 billion budget that passed unanimously on Wednesday, the House passed its $67.2 billion on a 74-44 partisan-lines vote.
By: Kevin Derby
| Posted: November 17, 2010 4:05 AM
Hours after taking the reins, House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, and Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, led the Legislature during an abbreviated special session Tuesday in passing eight bills vetoed earlier in the year by outgoing Gov. Charlie Crist.
On Thursday, the second to last day of the legislative session, proceedings slowed down in the House as members waited for the Senate to pass bills. House Democrats, outnumbered 76 to 44, also played a hand.
Spurred by leaders of both houses of the Legislature, the House passed measures Wednesday calling for the federal government to balance its budget.
Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, and Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, opened the session by calling for a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution. To that end, Rep. Adam Hasner, R-Delray Beach, sponsored a measure calling for a constitutional convention to amend the U.S Constitution. The measure passed 70 to 42.
