State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, who was criticized by House Democrats for not prioritizing spending to battle COVID-19, could be given the power to tap into extra federal money sent to Florida to deal with the pandemic.
Rep. Bryan Avila, the chief health care budget negotiator for the House, agreed on Thursday to let the Florida Department of Health tap into any increased federal COVID-19 funds that may become available during state Fiscal Year 2022-23.
The House's decision to allow the money to be spent aligns the chamber with the Senate. The Senate has not accepted the offer but it most likely will.
Meanwhile, time is running out for House and Senate budget negotiators to wrap up their work. The General Appropriations Act — the budget — is the only bill Florida lawmakers are required to pass during the annual Legislative Session.
But the budget must "cool off" for 72 hours before lawmakers can cast their votes. To that end, lawmakers must resolve their budget differences and the budget must be printed by Tuesday if the 2022 Legislative Session is to end on time.
State Sen. Aaron Bean said he was hopeful that the chambers could have an additional meeting or two before having to "bump up" unresolved budget issues to House Appropriations Chairman Rep. Jay Trumbull and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Sen. Kelli Stargel to resolve.
Avila and Bean are negotiating health care spending plans for Fiscal Year 2022-23, exchanging offers on how much to spend across the state's programs between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023.
The Senate had placed similar language regarding the Department of Health to access federal COVID-19 money in a separate budget implementing bill but not the actual budget itself. Implementing bills accompany spending plans and contain the changes that are necessary to implement the budget. Like the state budget, an implementing bill expires after one year.
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