In striking a $2.8-billion budget deal with Miami Reps. David Rivera and
Marcelo Llorente, Sen. J.D. Alexander made a bold pledge: This proposal is one
of the most special interest-free budgets in Florida history. So the Senate
proviso language that appeared to spare about half a dozen Community Workforce
Housing deals in counties of 1.2M or more (Broward, Dade) didn't appear to make
the final document, etc.

''I believe we did a yeoman's job making sure that special interests didn't
get their stuff in,'' Alexander said.

DEP could have used a lobbyist. Its budget was whacked 12 percent ($240M),
compared to an overall average cut of 2 percent in the entire budget. DOT barely
suffered. It lost $3.5M, or 0.043 percent.

At a glance: The plan cuts $1.2B in total spending, bringing the bottom-line
budget to $65B, less than the FY06 plan. As for the cuts that apply to the
deficit, they want to trim about $978M in general-revenue spending, bringing the
GR total to $24.6B (about $100M more than the FY05 budget).

The trust fund sweeps of $1.6B break down this way: $400M from the Budget
Stabilization fund, $700M from the Lawton Chiles Endowment Fund and $486M from
other trust funds.

More here.

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