Rick Scott’s $65.9 billion proposed budget drew reviews Tuesday ranging from tepid to downright mean as legislative committees dominated by fellow Republicans got their first look at the new governor’s first spending proposal.

Teacher layoffs. Few if any electives. School supplies that last a school only a few months.

Rick Scott was little more than a speck in the distance, but Cole Mehone, 38, stood weighted down by his backpack at the far edge of the VIP section, straining to hear every word the newly sworn-in governor had to say. The out-of-work accountant had hitchhiked from Panama City to Tallahassee, without a ticket or money to buy one -- to see his first inauguration, yes, but more important, to honor the man he believes is going to jump-start his stalled life.

So this is the way the legislative session ends: not with a bang but a whimper.