TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – This year's 60 day legislative session in Florida suddenly became 57 days for the House of Representatives and just 58 days for the Senate.
Claiming they have no more work to accomplish because their counterparts across the hall at the state Capitol left early, the Senate president's gavel signaled the close to the chamber's regular session.
But the state doesn't have an approved budget for July 1, so each chamber will need to reconvene for a special session to get funding for those programs desperately in need of it.
"It's disappointing. There was expectation on the part of the taxpayers that we meet for 60 days and deal with the people's business. Frankly, taxpayers didn't get their money's worth," Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, said.
Bradley is just one of the state senators among the many in Florida's Senate who are upset that their colleagues in the House of Representatives decided not to stay until Friday.
That decision means no budget will be agreed upon by the end of the session which also means no resolution on low income pool funding -- something vital to UF Health Jacksonville, as the hospital treats patients who cannot pay for care.
"I've talked to HHS, and they've told me in other states they have had hospitals close their doors," state Rep. Mia Jones, D-Jacksonville, said.
Jones said the funding from LIP for UF Health is critical -- something the state representative's colleagues agree with, but they can't seem to agree on how to provide that money or exactly how much.
UF Health said it needs $95 million of the federal and state money to survive.
"We have to be mindful of fact. For every action, there is a reaction. But for failure to act, there's also a reaction to that, as well," Jones said.
Much of the criticism from the Senate on this issue involves "reaction." Sen. Audrey Gibson, D-Jacksonville, said that both chambers knew the LIP funding would be an issue a year ago and that they needed to start working on things much sooner.