House and Senate leaders, under the aegis of Gov. Charlie Crist’s office, had reached general accord on how to reduce property taxes earlier this month. But House Speaker Marco Rubio, of West Miami, thinking the payoff for taxpayers wasn’t impressive enough, broke ranks and marshaled an overwhelming majority of House members this Monday to call for ever bigger tax cuts.

As the final days for securing a tax cut agreement slip away, fewer than a half-dozen legislators remain major players. Chief among them are Rubio, a brash, impatient leader of the right, and Sen. Daniel Webster, a calmer, more measured politician from Winter Garden who held Rubio’s post a decade ago. Both are hailed as staunch conservatives. But they have strikingly dissimilar personalities, work styles and political visions. And those have spilled over into the Legislature’s inability, so far, to agree on what to do to stem rising property tax bills.

The gambit upset Webster and Senate President Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie, who thought they had a deal. A legislative equivalent of a college food fight ensued. One of Rubio’s allies, Rep. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, R-Miami, sent an e-mail to a constituent criticizing senators’ “egos.” Rep. Evan Jenne, D-Davie, compared the behavior of senators to that of children. In this polarized atmosphere, legislators, who are scheduled to meet again Monday, will have just a few hours to find a way to get a proposal on the Jan. 29 ballot. By midnight Tuesday, according to Crist, the legal time limit for writing a proposed constitutional amendment will expire.

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