Florida Legislature

"We're going to be potentially cutting into the bone or into the muscle to find another what looks like could be as much as 20% in our budget to cut," Marden said.

Friday's vote marked the end of a special session to complete the budget — two months after it failed to pass in the regular session.

This would be the legislature's third special session of the year.

Bell previously served as President of the University of Alabama, holding the position for 10 years before his departure last summer.

The Florida legislative session is scheduled to end Friday, but in a case of déjà vu from last year’s session, the House and Senate can’t seem to agree on the budget.

The Florida House passed a bill last week that would increase the state's oversight of municipal utilities.

A recent state report attacked diversity, equity and inclusion programs as wasteful, criticized local governments for what it described as spending taxpayer money by funding grants for therapeutic art, food justice and “assisting illegal aliens.”

The Florida Senate passed a bill on Thursday that would increase transparency and local control over data center facilities.

A proposed Florida House bill amendment would give control of GRU to the state.

A Florida House committee has advanced a bill that includes an amendment that would give the state control over city municipal utilities created after Jan. 1, 2023. If passed, House Bill 1451 would effectively overturn local votes to retain control of Gainesville Regional Utilities.