Over the next few days, Gov. Rick Scott will examine the state’s $77 billion budget and decide, what if anything to veto. Among the health items in the budget is an increase in the personal spending allowance for long-term care Medicaid patients from $35 to $105 a month, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports. Advocates say the increase is 25 years overdue.
Also awaiting Scott’s signature:
- An overhaul of child welfare laws, with specific changes to the policies that often permitted children to be reunited with abusive parents, the Miami Herald reports.
- A dozen bills related to children, including booster seats for children up to the age of 5, changes to the juvenile justice system, greater protection from sexual predators and funding to help foster children get driver’s licenses, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports.
Meanwhile, Scott is expected to sign a bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks, instead of the current 24 weeks. As the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports, Democrats have already latched onto this as an issue they hope will rejuvenate voters in favor of Charlie Crist, Scott’s presumed opponent.