By James Call
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wfsu/local-wfsu-960080.mp3
Tallahassee, FL – The Florida Legislature is expected to do more work this week on closing a $3.75 billion dollar budget shortfall. Both the House and Senate are expected to approve spending cuts for the budget year that begins July First. James Call reports leaders of the Republican control Legislature have ruled out any tax increase to bridge the looming budget gap.
According to state economists the good news is an economic recovery is underway. The economy actually started growing about a year ago but the gains have been much lower than expected and the state does not have the money to maintain current spending on medicine for the sick, schools for children and a judicial and public safety system for everyone.
"Let me put that in perspective for you. Everyone says, oh, fraud, waste and abuse. Well, just eliminate fraud, waste and abuse."
Dean Cannon is speaker of the Florida House of Representatives. In addition to closing a shortfall He wants to set aside another billion dollars in reserves to protect Florida's credit rating. That would make a budget gap closer to 4.7 billion dollars.
"I'm sure there is fraud, waste and abuse. And we will zealously and aggressively go get it. But, but, to put that in perspective, everything that is in the state budget that is not healthcare, education and public safety, okay? If it's not Medicaid Medicare, Medically Needy, if it's not k-12 post-secondary education and if it's not prison and public safety, everything else in the state budget that is outside that realm is about one point one billion. All of the government's expense outside those three categories totals about one point one billion."
Plans Representatives and Senators are working on would remove billions of dollars from the budgets for schools and for prisons. A rewrite of Medicaid procedures would wring another billion dollars of savings. People who disagree with the proposals say lawmakers are playing a game of class warfare. But Republican leaders, like Senate President Mike Haridopolos say the recession is forcing government to set priorities.
"I mean a lot of things are on the table. And if the choice is do we cut criminal justice or education then I am picking criminal justice. So I think like any bill we have already shown important ideas need to be vetted in important subcommittees and the full committee. We got to cut the budget and there will be equal sacrifice and equal pain."
A drop in consumer spending is reflected in the anemic growth of sales and corporate tax collections. The real estate market is still recovering from the bursting of housing bubble, resulting in lower than expected tax and fee collections. Revenue collections this year will be a little more than they were in 2005 before the economy went into recession.
Leading lawmakers says the state's balanced budget requirement means everyone will have to do more with less. Advocates for groups affected by the cuts say lawmakers are misreading voters. Lisa Henning represents the Fraternal Order of Police. She said she thinks when Floridians say they support a smaller government what they mean is they want government to have less authority not government providing fewer services.
"It means less intrusion into the private lives of Florida citizens, it means fewer permitting processes, streamlining government does not mean fewer people to give much needed services to the citizens."
Henning spoke at a news conference where 30-some representatives of advocacy groups, including firefighters, students and social services stood together to protest budget cuts. The House budget would reduce state government's workforce by more than five thousand positions. And educators predict the cuts to schools will force districts to lay off teachers.
Senate President Mike Haridopolos said his goal is to produce a balanced budget without a tax increase. And the Speaker of the House, Dean Cannon is emphatic in ruling out any tax increases.
"I believe we have sort of a political economic and moral obligation not to raise taxes. Not to raise the cost of living when more than one in ten Floridians do not have a job."
The House has spoken first. It proposes a 3.9 billion dollar spending cut for next year. Late Monday the Senate was still crunching numbers, working different scenarios designed to produce savings. This is the third year that Senator J. D. Alexander has led the Senate in writing a state budget and he talks like a man trying to balance the challenges of today with the possibilities of tomorrow.
"I'm trying to design some of these cuts so that doesn't preclude future decisions so that when times are a little better we can get back on track. I think at the end of the day we will make sure that we don't eat our seed corn and still be able to plant our crop back to try to grow the jobs and opportunities the governor has spoken too many times".
The House proposed spending 66.9-billion dollars next year. The Senate Budget Committee is expected to respond this week. Then the two chambers will spend the month of April blending the two plans. Lawmakers are in session until May 6th. Florida's budget year begins July first.