Gov. Rick Scott will reject tuition increase - STEVE BOUSQUET AND KIM WALMATH, Miami Herald

The first budget confrontation of the legislative session emerged Tuesday when Gov. Rick Scott declared his opposition to an 8 percent tuition increase at state colleges and universities that Republican lawmakers support. “I don’t believe in tuition hikes,” Scott said. “We have to do what the private sector has done and what every family has done and that’s tighten our belts. ... That’s the first thing I want to focus on, is how we can reduce our costs rather than how do we raise tuition.” The House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday is expected to vote out a preliminary budget of $69.2 billion that includes an 8 percent tuition hike — the same as in the current year’s budget, which Scott signed into law last May without objecting to a tuition hike.