It's one of the key pieces of legislation House and Senate leaders appear determined to pass before adjournment this year. Yet as the clock ticks down, neither chamber has passed a growth management bill.

The Senate failed to approve its growth management bill, Senate Bill 360, Tuesday, as expected. House leaders say they are waiting for the Senate to pass its bill before they take it up.

``There's only so many times a growth management bill can go back and forth between the chambers this late in session,'' said Towson Fraser, spokesman for House Speaker Allan Bense.

Additionally, the House appears to be holding hostage one of Senate President Tom Lee's priorities. It has yet to consider a bill increasing disclosure requirements for lobbyists, perhaps to use as a bargaining chip in the final days of session.

Still, Bense said that growth management legislation ``is alive and well.''

In the span of three days, the chambers will have to whittle down significant differences in their approaches.

As House and Senate leaders continue to negotiate, ``lines in the sand'' have emerged, said Rep. Randy Johnson, sponsor of the House growth management bill, House Bill 1865.

Tax Proposal Controversial

The House objects to a proposal in Senate Bill 360 that allows local governments to raise taxes to cover development without having voters weigh in.

Raising taxes is an ``absolute nonstarter'' in the House, said Johnson, R-Celebration.

``We're not going to raise taxes, and we're certainly not going to raise them as our first attempt to address the growth management problems in the state,'' he said.

At the same time, Lee said he would prefer not to approve growth management legislation if it does not include the provision allowing cities and county governments to raise taxes more easily.

``I think that we have to be intellectually honest and fair to local governments,'' said Lee, R-Brandon. ``We allow them to make land-use provisions that cost the general public millions of dollars by a majority vote, and yet we require them to pass tax revenues to fund those obligations by a supermajority or referendum. It's just not consistent.''

County commissions that develop community visions would be able to levy certain local taxes for infrastructure by a majority vote rather than, in many cases, by holding a referendum.

Gov. Jeb Bush agrees with the Senate position, saying it lifts impediments that make it harder for local governments to impose new taxes.

Lawmakers hope to reach some sort of agreement by Friday. They have agreed to set aside $1.5 billion to pay for roads, schools and water supplies in the 2005-06 budget that landed on lawmakers' desks Tuesday.

``Ideally we'll pass some kind of acceptable growth management so we know how to spend the money,'' said Rep. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, the House budget chief.

Still, legislative leaders say they aren't going to be hasty just for the sake of passing some form of growth management legislation this year.

``I think that if we can't produce a piece of legislation to address the anecdotal problems out there facing our state, why do it?'' Lee said. ``Just to hold a press conference on the last day of session to say we got it done?''