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Lawmakers To Slash Budget In Special Session

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Jan 4, 2009 9:18 pm US/Eastern

Lawmakers To Slash Budget In Special Session

Legislators Looking To Cut $2.3 Billion

TALLAHASSEE (CBS4) ― When Florida lawmakers convene Monday for a two week special session, they'll have red pens in hand as they try to figure out where to cut another $2.3 billion from the state's budget. 

Due to an expected decrease in revenue, lawmakers fear a nearly $4 billion deficit in the next fiscal year that begins July 1, 2009.  Florida law requires the state live within its means and lawmakers are required to have a balanced budget.

As they work through the budget, legislators will be working in the shadow of an ethics controversy surrounding House Speaker Ray Sansom, who took a six-figure job at a college in his Panhandle district where he delivered more than $25 million in last year's budget, much more than some larger schools received.

Florida is hardly alone in the revenue crisis caused by a year-long national recession that has left other states in even more financial difficulty. California lawmakers face a $14 billion shortfall in the present budget year and anticipate that might triple in the next 18 months.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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