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Scott And The Incredibly Shrinking Budget

Associated Press

Forget his campaign promises to shrink government and grow the job market.

Governor Rick Scott had to put his money where his mouth is when he rolled out his $77 billion spending proposal this week.

Scott’s idea of jolting the economy is $673 million in tax cuts, and his notion of a smaller government is eliminating 1,017 state positions.

Scott started with a billion-dollar surplus and a soft spot for cable TV subscribers and cell phone users. He says a $470 million reduction in telecommunications taxes will make a difference in people’s lives.

“We can afford to help those families who scrimped and saved and worked hard the last four years by giving them back more of the money that belongs to them.”

But experts say the average cell phone user with a $100 monthly bill will only save about $43 a year.

In a state that has no income tax, the cell phone cut is a way to reach the most consumers. But two of the most prominent ones, Senate President Andy Gardiner and House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, are less than thrilled. Gardnier, an Orlando Republican, is non-committal.

“I think the importance for us is to say we are very interested in cutting taxes. We want it to be broad based. That’s part of our plan.”

Scott knows he can’t lure world-class employers with sub-standard schools. His solution is an $843 million-dollar increase in K through 12 spending, or an additional $261 per student. Scott claims it breaks 2007’s per-student record

But Scott doesn’t account for inflation --- and that’s cheating, says House Democratic Leader Mark Pafford of West Palm Beach.

“Well, certainly I think we could do a lot better. He doesn’t do anything bold.”

Then there’s the troubled Department of Corrections, where investigators are probing inmate deaths. Scott wouldn’t include the money Florida Department of Law Enforcement officials want to keep the investigation going.

After slashing prison spending repeatedly – guards haven’t had a raise in six years – Scott wants to increase spending $512 million. Prison reform advocate Allison DeFoor says it’s a good start.

“We’re encouraged so far in the respect that it’s showing attention to the Department of Corrections issues. And I think this year the Legislature and the governor are devoting their bandwith to the issues that are important to us and increasingly, a whole lot of people in Florida.”

Scott has his own ideas for spending $757 million voters wanted set aside for the environment.  A big chunk, $122 million, would go to Everglades cleanup. But another $33 million would flow to the Keys for wastewater treatment.

And that’s too much of a stretch for Amendment 1 says Audubon of Florida’s executive director, Eric Draper. Draper should know. He was the principle author.

“We’re concerned that there’s a push on from developers and local governments to bail out subdivisions that were not properly built.”

And Scott’s plan to shrink state government goes even further than axing more than 1,000 state worker positions, which he says are mostly vacant. True to his word, Scott submitted a budget that would shrink this year’s spending by $100 million

A Miami native, former WFSU reporter Jim Ash is an award-winning journalist with more than 20 years of experience, most of it in print. He has been a member of the Florida Capital Press Corps since 1992.