Imagine someone hands you a big pile of money.

  What would you do with it? Throw a party or feed the poor? Help your family and friends or buy a new house? A little of all the above, maybe?

  There is a lot of extra money in Florida this year, $5.8 billion, and it’s all yours – from new tax revenues, soaring property values and a robust economy.

  You can’t spend it, of course. It’s all under the control of Gov. Jeb Bush and state lawmakers. And they have lots of ideas about what to do with it as they head to Tallahassee for the opening Tuesday of the 2006 session of the Florida Legislature.

  They will consider a $70 billion budget proposal from the governor that includes the unprecedented surplus – projected revenues that exceed projected expenses.

  Some want to use a big chunk of the extra dough for tax cuts while others say it should go towards school construction. There are health care needs, and people still struggling to recover from hurricane damage. Some suggest the unthinkable for politicians, who trade on the favors they dole out - save it for a rainy day or pay off debts.

  The $5.8 billion has inspired a bit of a free-for-all. Everyone at the Capitol wants a piece of this juicy pie, and before you know it only crumbs will be left.

  How do you want them to spend it?