Scott’s Budget Proposal Under Heavy Scrutiny

February 9, 2011

Rick Scott’s $65.9 billion proposed budget drew reviews Tuesday ranging from tepid to downright mean as legislative committees dominated by fellow Republicans got their first look at the new governor’s first spending proposal.

House education, transportation and health care panels grilled Scott budget office staff dispatched to present portions of the budget rolled out Monday by the state’s chief executive at a Tea Party rally in Central Florida. For many lawmakers, the staff outlines were their initial look at the plan, with several pointing out the difficulties they faced in viewing a Web posting that has proved impossible to fully access for two consecutive days.

For a governor elevated by a campaign theme of ‘let’s get to work,’ his difficulties in conquering the Internet may pale against getting a wary Legislature to sign-off on his self-described ‘jobs’ budget.

Lawmakers who usually refuse to endorse even their own budget plans until they view county-by-county education financing, voiced deep concerns about Scott’s plan to slice per-pupil school spending by an average of at least $298 – part of an overall $3.3 billion cut to education spending.

A health care panel later held Scott’s budget up to the light, with lawmakers from both parties challenging his push to privatize three state mental hospitals and Florida’s half-dozen veteran’s nursing homes, with local governments left to pick-up services the state would no longer perform.

Jane Johnson, policy coordinator for Scott’s budget office, defended the governor’s spending choices saying, “government can’t do everything in the Health and Human Services sector that we would like it to do.”

But Rep. Daniel Davis, R-Jacksonville, said Scott’s approach will likely lead to thousands of Floridians losing health and social services completely, since local governments are in no position to close the gap.

“Do you realize that at the local level there’s not going to be any funds for some of the services you say need to be funded at the local level?” said Davis, who until his election last fall, served seven years on the Jacksonville City Council. “We need to be honest with ourselves and the local community.”

Scott budget officials are saying that the loss of federal stimulus dollars will result in that $298-per-student cut if expected pension savings are ploughed back into education and if school districts socked aside some federal jobs fund money that the Scott administration said could be used. But if pension savings aren’t realized, or the jobs money wasn’t reserved, some counties could lop off as much as $700 per student, a dramatic 10 percent cut.

Even Republicans blanched at that.

Rep. Marti Coley, chairwoman of the House Prek-12 Education Appropriations Subcommittee, said lawmakers have known they’d have to make cuts with the end of the stimulus that has bailed them out the last couple years.

But “10 percent is pretty steep,” said Coley, R-Marianna. “So we will consider his proposals and we will make our own proposals as well.”

Democrats were more blunt.

“He’s a new governor and he’s new at a lot of this and I hope that as he matures as governor, he starts getting a better understanding of how important it is to provide our children with the best and most fully funded education possible,” said Rep. Marty Kiar, D-Davie.

Scott staffers generally stood their ground under the tough questioning from lawmakers. Johnson, of the budget office, began her remarks by pointing out that “there were no sacred cows,” in the governor’s approach to spending.

The governor’s iconoclastic view of budgeting has led him to recommend cutting 8,681 state jobs, draining $8.5 billion from 124 state trust funds for use across all areas of government, while also laying the groundwork for a 2012-13 spending plan that’s even smaller — $63.3 billion.

About $1.7 billion in tax cuts also would be handed out – part of a $4.1 billion, two-year reduction that also leaves about $700 million in reserves next year. Part of the 2012-13 budget trimming will be powered by an anticipated $1.2 billion reduction in Medicaid spending – savings earned by pushing Florida’s 2.7 million Medicaid recipients into managed care programs that Scott and lawmakers would still have to design and win approval for from the federal government.

“This is basically a visionary budget,” Rep. Gayle Harrell, R-Port St. Lucie, told Johnson. “You envision these reductions occurring.”

Few budget areas were spared Scott’s cutting. But just as the governor beefed up economic development efforts – spending $800 million over two years – Scott was relatively generous toward transportation efforts, a potential job-creator.

Overall transportation spending would drop from just under $10 billion this year to $9.3 billion next year and then just under $8.8 billion the next year. But it allows the state’s five-year work program to remain fully funded the next two years – drawing some of the few words of praise Tuesday for Scott’s budget.

“By investing additional dollars in economic development, by preserving the transportation trust fund, I think (that) shows that he’s got an interest in job creation,” said Rep. Mike Horner, R-Kissimmee, chairman of the House Transportation & Economic Development Appropriations Subcommittee.

Horner, however, was concerned about Scott’s proposal to eliminate nearly 40 highway patrol positions, because it could cost the state revenue, and maybe even lives.

“I think we need to be aware of the impact that these recommendations might have on the street, that’s my concern,” Horner said. “The rationale given was that the good news is that traffic fatalities are way down in Florida. We’ve done a great job. I think we need to be careful that we continue that path.”

Scott has also proposed to roll back about $235 million in increased driver fees that lawmakers used to prop up the sagging state budget two years ago. Horner conceded that the fee hikes have proved unpopular, but he said lawmakers are wary about committing to reducing them while struggling to close a budget shortfall of at least $3.6 billion.

Keith Laing and Kathleen Haughney of the News Service Florida contributed to this report.

Comments

8 Responses to “Scott’s Budget Proposal Under Heavy Scrutiny”

  1. dad on February 9th, 2011 4:38 pm

    Scott said he was going to do these things during the election. Didn’t anyone listen?

  2. ProudArmyParent on February 9th, 2011 1:02 pm

    Everett,
    I already exercised my right to vote, but unfortunately it was heard. And if I have to wait 4 years to do it again to get him out of office it may be too late for our state by them. Let’s just call him “Tricky Ricky”! He got himself elected by a slight of hands. It was look over here I’ll take care of that bad septic tank law if you just elect me, now he is slitting our throats with that vote! I’m predicted he adds something very on to the law that rids us of septic tank inspections every 5 yrs. Isn’t that how all politicians do it ,add on the pork so nothing can be done about it.

  3. You Who on February 9th, 2011 10:09 am

    I’m still wondering why a man would spend $75+ millions of his own money just to become Governor. We already see the increase in spending in his office but what else. He’s got to make $75+million back just to break even and don’t think for a moment that he is not thinking about that. The RICH is always thinking of how to get RICHER and most likely it will be on the backs of the working man/woman. You can bet on that!!!

  4. Country girl on February 9th, 2011 9:19 am

    This budget really has me worried. As a State worker for 27 yrs, I barely make enough to make ends meet now. My W-2 for 2010 showed I earned almost 25,000.00. That may sound like a lot to some people, but when you have a disabled husband and 2 school age children, it isn’t. Now Gov. Scott wants to take another 5% of our pay, cut positions, while giving his office an increase to their budget. I haven’t had a raise in 5 yrs. My health insurance goes up every year. My family doesn’t qualify for any type of assistance, because I work fulltime. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I sure hope that the legislative committees will consider what will happen to those of us that are already struggleing to survive.

  5. xpeecee on February 9th, 2011 8:20 am

    I do not know whether or not Governor Scott will do all the right things, while in office. I do know, however, that this country is living way above our means. If we are going to survive, as a country, we must live within our means. This means we must cut the budget and keep cutting until we can afford it. I am sure that I will not agree on each and every point in the way this is done. But I can see that it MUST be done. Let’s give him a chance. If he can’t do it – or will not do it – let’s vote him out of office………..

    The message was clear in the last election:
    * We don’t want socialism
    * We dont want more government
    * We don’t want more taxes (as in septic tank inspections)
    * We don’t want illegal aliens getting a free ride
    * We don’t want more gun control
    * We don’t want to depart from the Christian principals that our country was founded upon
    For those who didn’t get the message – – – vote them out!

  6. Jane Hayes on February 9th, 2011 7:25 am

    Read the budget for yourself and see where the cuts are and more expenditures are.
    All I have heard is we better not cut the prison budget. And why the governors budget go up?
    Go read all the minutia.. I am not through reading yet and I confess some I don’t entirely understand because I am not familiar enough, but most of it seems pretty on point so far.

    http://letsgettowork.state.fl.us/

  7. MISS K on February 9th, 2011 6:35 am

    Ok first of all i can not even believe that people voted for this lunatic. He is not going to do anything but run Florida in the ground. I work in the prison and let me tell u that it is already bad. If he starts cutting jobs and money, we are going to have more than a bad financial situation on our hands. As for education, I’m sorry but i thought we were trying to educate our children. If he starts cutting money from education, who is going to educate our children? The teachers already don’t make any money. This is ludicrous!! How about instead of him trying to cut all this money from our budget, he can just give us the money he embezzled.

  8. Everett on February 9th, 2011 2:03 am

    I certainly do not agree in cutting law enforcement in any way shape or form from FHP to prisons. I do agree in lowering the drivers license fee as the state has drivers over the barrel on that item. He wants to cut 8000 jobs so we that work pay for the newly umeployed to collect 99 weeks of un-employment.

    I agree with his statement concerning “you can’t spend it unless you have it to spend”.

    The state spends over 1 billion dollars in taking care of illegal’s. A single illegal mother can get a social security card. If she has children she can collect up to $1500.00 per child per month. Try crossng into mexico and doing that. You will get a bus ride and a kick in the pants back into the US.

    A good work to eat program may be an an idea. No work, no eat.

    The population of this state gets larger every year.

    Give this govenor a chance. He has some good ideas. If you are not happy exercise your right to vote and vote him out in 4 years.

    It could be worse in that we could have the situation that egypt has had over the last 30 years and most recently.

    We live in the greatest nation on the planet. We are going to have to pull up our boot straps and tighten our belts to get through this. We can do this. You just have to want it bad enough to stick with it.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News