Differences in education and health care spending slowed budget negotiations between House and Senate.  The budget debate continued through the weekend, breaking down on Saturday, resuming late Sunday afternoon and continuing late into the night. To meet the 72-hour 'cooling-off period' before a vote can be taken, the budget agreement must be on legislators' desks for review by Tuesday (three days before 'Sine Die', the official end of the 2014 session).  Next week's Gazette will include a full report on the final budget for education, health and human services.

President Gaetz and Speaker Weatherford address the Joint Budget Conference members.

Mike Watkins, CEO of Big Bend Community Based Care lead agency, talks with reporters about the child welfare bill.

The Senate child protection/welfare bill CS/SB 1666 passed last week, after a last-minute attempt to substitute a weakened version of the bill failed. The bill is now in Messages and expected to be heard on the House floor later this week. It would make changes to the state's system of child protective investi-gations and case management of children at risk for abuse and neglect. Although both House and Senate added $47 million to the budget for child protective investigators, case managers and family support services, some advocates argue that the additional funds are not adequate to meet the anticipated increase in caseloads, and that the bill focuses too much on administration and not enough on underlying issues such as parent engagement, substance abuse and mental health.  Read more.