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A $3.3 billion gulf: Here are the budget fault lines dividing the Florida House and Senate

A $3.3 billion bottom-line difference divides spending plans in the Legislature, with the House and Senate awash in dollars from a recovering state economy layered on top of COVID-19 relief aid from Washington.

On a 102-14 vote, the House approved Wednesday its slightly slimmer $105.3 billion state budget proposal for next year.

The Senate is poised to advance its bulkier $108.6 billion plan Thursday, setting the stage for negotiations between the two sides toward reaching a compromise package by the session’s scheduled March 11 close.

A $3.3 billion gap sounds like a lot. But it’s easier to grasp – and for lawmakers to narrow – when viewed as smaller differences scattered across scores of spending priorities and involving a few million dollars here and there.

House bill would require Florida high schoolers to take financial literacy classes

A House bill (HB 1115) composed by Demi Busatta Cabrera that would require Floridian high school students to take courses in financial literacy and money management in order to graduate passed through the PreK-12 Appropriation Committee on Wednesday morning, receiving unanimous support among members.

If passed, the bill would require financial literacy standards to be implemented for high schoolers starting in 9th grade coursework. The changes are planned to take effect for the 2022-23 school year. Covered topics would include opening and managing a bank account, how to assess the quality of a depository institution’s services, and basic literacy skills regarding interest and loans.

“HB 1115 guarantees Florida students receive a financial education to prepare them for success after high school, regardless of where they choose to take that next step,” said bill author Cabrera. “This bill will make sure that students know banking practices, money management such as spending, credit scores, lending, loan application, basic principles of insurance policies, and local tax policies.”

New Palm Beach State College initiative will refund tuition for certain degrees if grads are unemployed

Palm Beach State College (PBSC) is now offering a guaranteed job for students in several of its work study programs, with the promise of refunding tuition if the graduates are unemployed after six months.

Those refunds would apply to career training programs in the fields of dental hygiene, electrician work, heating, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics and installers (HVAC), nursing, respiratory care, and welding. The move comes after Florida approved a slate of workforce program reforms last year.

“We proudly stand behind our commitment to our students and our business community to graduate students who are prepared and ready to go right to work after successfully completing their programs,” said Palm Beach State College President Ava L. Parker.

Tallahassee City Commission votes to expand noise ordinance

The Tallahassee City Commission voted 4-1 Wednesday to move forward with an amendment to the city’s noise ordinance to give law enforcement more tools to break up pop-up parties.

The change would allow law enforcement to act on their own accord to issue citations in the city’s urban area for creating noises that are “clearly audible” from a 100 feet or more away after 2 a.m. The current ordinance limits law enforcement intervention until after receiving nearby resident complaints, then identifying where the sound is coming from and picking up a decibel level exceeding the limit with a device.

The Tallahassee Police Department (TPD) backed the change. TPD Deputy Chief Maurice Holmes told the Commission during the meeting that the current ordinance is unenforceable, which has allowed a spike of pop-up parties to occur since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.