Clock starts ticking on $77 billion budget

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Fla. Gov. Rick Scott is getting ready his veto pen.

The Republican-controlled Florida Legislature on Tuesday formally delivered a record $77 billion budget to Scott’s desk.

That starts the clock ticking for the governor. He has until June 4 to decide which spending items included in the budget should be vetoed. But there’s a good chance that Scott won’t wait that long to act.

The new budget is 3.5 percent higher than last year’s budget and includes a boost in money for schools, child welfare and projects to battle water pollution.

Legislators came into this year’s session with a $1.2 billion budget surplus. They used some of the extra money on dozens and dozens of hometown projects.