The Legislature convened in conference on the budget on Wednesday after accusations earlier in the week regarding gamesmanship by members of both chambers. As part of the compromise, the Senate agreed to advance a bifurcation of the Florida Supreme Court into separate criminal and civil divisions, each comprising five justices. The proposal is a priority of Speaker Dean Cannon, which supporters argue will increase the efficiency of the high court in hearing cases. Proponents argue the proposal is little more than a “court packing” scheme to obtain more favorable outcomes for Republican proposals. The Senate also dropped its proposal to include the budgets of the state's five water management districts within the overall state budget as well as a proposal to merge the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority into the state's Florida Turnpike Enterprise. Through the weekend, a number of minor and major outstanding issues were resolved by the appropriations chairs, including requiring state employees to contribute three percent of their income to their retirement plan. The final budget must be completed and provided to the Legislature and other parties by the end of the day Tuesday, as the Florida Constitution requires a 72-hour “cooling off” period before a vote for final passage may be taken on the budget.