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TALLAHASSEE - While legislators worked over the weekend and through the day Monday to reach agreement on the state's $56-billion budget, House Speaker Johnnie Byrd was off to New York to raise money for his U.S. Senate campaign.
The House canceled a session that had been scheduled for Monday, an action likely to send the Senate into weekend sessions this week to handle late-arriving bills.
Byrd's campaign spokesman, Wayne Garcia, said the speaker left Tampa Sunday afternoon for a series of fundraising visits in New York City, including a lunch and dinner Monday. He was scheduled to return to the capital Monday night.
Garcia would not discuss details of the fundraising visits but said Byrd has tried to limit his time away from the Legislature and has only one campaign event scheduled during the final days of the session, which is slotted to end April 30.
Senate President Jim King remained in town over the weekend and made the rounds of conference committees as they met to discuss health care needs and education funds.
King warned his members last week that they can expect to be meeting this weekend because of a House rule that requires a 48-hour waiting period before a final vote can be taken on a bill.
Tom Denham, spokesman for the speaker's office, said Monday's scheduled session was not canceled because of the fundraising trip.
"If we had needed a session, the speaker would have been here," Denham said. "It was canceled because the conference committees needed flexibility."
Denham said Byrd didn't remain in the capital all weekend because he has confidence in his members.
"If they needed him, they could have contacted him. It wasn't necessary for him to physically be here," Denham added.