TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – April 28, 2008 – Lawmakers working on next year’s state budget finished negotiations Sunday, finalizing approximately $5 billion in cuts to the budget that now needs approval from the House, Senate and governor.

Some of the main agreements reached Sunday include cutting nearly 200 probation officer positions from the Department of Corrections, raising pay for state troopers by 5 percent and cutting pay for lawmakers by 5 percent.

Conspicuous in its absence from the final budget is funding for Everglades restoration. The Senate’s proposal of $100 million for the Everglades – half the funding it received last year – was ultimately rejected. Lawmakers said the state will hopefully be able to find the money next year.

The final budget will come in around $66 billion, about $5 billion less than the budget passed last year.

Budget leaders Rep. Ray Sansom, R-Destin, and Sen. Lisa Carlton, R-Osprey, resolved the remaining differences between the House and Senate budgets Sunday evening.

The budget in final form could be distributed to lawmakers as early as Monday, but because of a required cooling-off period, a vote could not happen before Thursday, a day before the 60-day regular session is due to end. The budget is the only bill the Legislature is required by the state constitution to pass every year.

Many of the agreements were compromises. Cutting the 199 probation officer positions is down from 500 positions the House had wanted to cut in its previous offer. Since most of the positions being cut are currently vacant, the level of service should not drop, Carlton said.

Lawmakers also backed off on proposed salary cuts for the governor and cabinet members. And they didn’t go for a $3.9 million budget proposal from the governor to purchase 10,000 new ticket vending machines for the Florida Lottery, but they agreed not to decrease advertising for the game. Cutting the advertising would have decreased the amount of money the games bring in, Sansom said.

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