TALLAHASSEE -- The Florida Senate’s proposed $69.8 billion budget, which passed the appropriations committee Thursday on a largely party-line vote, is full of “tough choices” in the words of Republican leaders.

But they did the choosing. And Democratic-leaning groups — state workers and the unions representing them — were on the losing end.

The Senate budget eliminates 5,000 state-paid jobs, many of them filled positions. It requires state workers to pay more for health insurance. It trims their pay 3 per cent to help fund their retirement plans. It removes financial retirement incentives and raises the retirement age for police and fire fighters.

“I don’t want to have 60-year-old guys going into a burning building to save lives,” said Dean Parkerson, a Hialeah Fire Department chief who testified against the changes to the retirement plans.

Parkerson’s pleas were echoed by police officers, teachers and their unions. They weren’t ignored. But his call to find money elsewhere in the budget wasn’t heeded, either.

The state faces a $3.75 billion budget gap. Republicans, who won a super-majority in the Legislature in the last election, say they’ll stick to their campaign pledge to not raise taxes.

So they’ll cut and cut and cut the state payroll, the size of government, schools, environmental programs, health departments and Medicaid reimbursement rates for nursing homes and hospitals.

“Fact is, we’ve got a real arithmetic problem here,” said Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville. “We can’t spend more than we take in. And there is no part — no part — of this budget where we haven’t asked people to make sacrifices. Hospitals, or nursing homes or schools or anybody else — nobody has been immune.”

Even Gov. Rick Scott could see the effect of the cuts. His security detail is being shaved in half.

Scott had proposed a budget with even bigger cuts to government and $2.4 billion in tax cuts. But the Legislature isn’t going along with the large revenue reductions because it means more budget cuts.

Senate President Mike Haridopolos said his chamber might consider some limited tax relief late in the session.

“First and foremost, we want to make these tough decisions,” he said. “Sometimes people look at this very conservative legislature that we enjoy cutting — these are tough calls.”

The no-new-taxes pledge doesn’t mean the Legislature isn’t making life in Florida more expensive for some. Lawmakers are in the process of raising tuition for college students and passing legislation that could allow electric rates and premiums for Citizens Property Insurance to go higher.

Despite the lean times, senators on Thursday proposed slipping in $4 million in hometown spending projects – known to some in Washington as “earmarks” and as “turkeys” to Tallahassee folks. The projects range from the Dan Marino Foundation for the disabled in Broward County to senior services in Little Havana to a Central Florida-centric Farm Share program.

“Not everyone is being treated equally,” said state Sen. Nan Rich, the Senate’s Democratic leader from Weston.

Some group homes that help people with cerebral palsy and other developmental disabilities could see deep rate cuts – especially in the Florida Keys, where reimbursement rates could be slashed by 17 percent. Mental-health and substance abuse programs for adults are being gutted.