Final Florida Budgets Approved; Budget Negotiations And Scott Showdown Set

April 8, 2011

Lawmakers voted Thursday to approve budgets slicing education and health care, asking state employees to foot some of the bill for their own retirement and largely staying true to the GOP majority’s promise to avoid tax increases — setting up budget negotiations and a potential showdown with new Gov. Rick Scott.

In the House, members voted for the spending plan along party lines, 78-39. The Senate margin was slightly more bipartisan, with almost half of the Democratic members present joining with Republicans on the 33-6 vote.

There are significant gaps to reconcile. On one key measure — a plan to ask state employees to contribute to their own employment — the House would require workers to kick in 3 percent of their income regardless of their earnings; the Senate plan would set different charges on different levels of income, ranging from 2 percent on the first $25,000 of pay to 6 percent on any pay above $50,000.

Other differences between the two chambers include the House’s plan to sweep $330 million from the State Transportation Trust Fund — a seemingly annual battle with the Senate — and an overall difference of more than $3 billion between the $66.5 billion House blueprint and the Senate’s $69.8 billion measure.

The Senate would also boost the cost of health insurance for some state employees, a proposal that Cannon voice caution about Thursday evening.

“Since I think both the House and Senate plan are fairly aggressive in changing the FRS and the pension side, we have to be very sensitive in what we do with health insurance,” he said.

Both Cannon and Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, said they expected to agree on budget allocations in time for conference committees to begin meeting late next week.

The negotiations could also prove to be a test of the relationship between Scott and the Republican Legislature. Scott declined to say this week whether he would veto a spending plan that doesn’t include his tax cuts.

“I try not to think about hypotheticals,” Scott said earlier this week. “I’m very comfortable that we’ll get it in there.”

But, aside from a Senate measure reducing the property tax rates charged by water management districts, few of Scott’s proposed reductions are in either chamber’s budget, dramatically reducing the chances that they will be included in the final spending blueprint.

But after Thursday’s session, Cannon wouldn’t take the option of tax cuts off the table.

“I think it’s extremely difficult, but I wouldn’t rule it in, I wouldn’t rule it out,” he said.

The arguments Thursday followed the well-worn lines of the budget debates over the last few years, as slouching state revenues have forced lawmakers to approve tax increases or reduce spending. Democrats slammed the budget for not including new revenues raised by hiking taxes or eliminating exemptions.

“We have not found the middle ground,” said Sen. Nan Rich, D-Weston. “We didn’t have to make these decisions. We could have made other decisions. We decided to cause unnecessary pain on a lot of vulnerable people in this state.”

But increased taxes, Republicans countered, would be precisely the wrong prescription as the state tries to recover from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, said there was a good reason the state wasn’t getting additional tax dollars from businesses or residents.

“They don’t have it!” he proclaimed at one point during the House debate. “ . . . The last thing we need to do is to ask them for more, more than they can do. And they’re asking us, ‘Do the best you can with what you have.’”

Democrats also continued to attack the pension changes, with the House minority going so far as asking for the measure to be considered an income tax increase.

“A vote on this bill will always be remember by some, if not many, as a vote on the first income tax in our state’s history,” said Minority Leader Ron Saunders, D-Key West.

Republicans responded that the cuts were necessary, and that state employees were simply being asked to do what has become commonplace in other states and the private sector.

“We’re not balancing the budget on the backs of anyone,” said Rep. Seth McKeel, R-Lakeland. “We’re balancing the budget.”

By Brandon Larrabee
By The News Service of Florida

Comments

3 Responses to “Final Florida Budgets Approved; Budget Negotiations And Scott Showdown Set”

  1. Paul on April 9th, 2011 9:39 am

    Dawn (the Harry Potter Fan),

    Remember as state employees, you have a deal. You get greater job security and benefits, but lower pay. Now I realize there were a few boom years a few years ago that you had it all, good pay, benefits and job security. That was nice, but that was in the unsustainable real estate bubble. We made a lot of mistakes. I invested in too much real estate (and am paying the price now). Our government gave its employees too much pay and benefits. That is being reversed now. You and all state employees have a choice. You can ride it out (it will probably get better in a few years), or you can get a private sector job. Its a tough choice, but (as your mother undoubtedly told you) nobody said life is easy or fair.

    I support Rick Scott, because he is trying to take Florida in the direction of Texas. Texas has created more jobs in the last few years than the rest of the country combined. If we make a friendly business environment, a bunch of businesses will move or start here and it will get better. Just look at the 2010 census results, the states that have low taxes and business friendly regulations gained a lot of people.

  2. Ifish4 on April 8th, 2011 1:49 pm

    Dawn, well said. I have often wondered how Republicans figure we can cut taxes and maintain services with the price of everything going up every day and especially with gas going up not 2 or 3 cents a gallon a month like it use to, but 15 to 20 cents a gallon a week. I mean we all know the world hasn’t changed, kids have to be schooled, we need police and fire protection, seniors and the disabled need to be taken care of, and infrastructure has to be kept up. I’m just wondering if all these people that still support these tax cuts are still going to support them when it starts hitting home with them. Just like Scott doesn’t support a prescription data base, but does support the pill mill bill that might prohibit smaller pharmacies from filling certain prescriptions, thus likely putting them out of business, and the cuts to hospitals that may cause Sacred Heart Hospital and others to discontinue some services perhaps causing lay offs. I also own property and pay several hundred dollars a year in property taxes, to be honest, I don’t like paying them, but I understand they are a necessary evil if government is to do it’s job. I’ve heard all my life that Republicans are for the rich and corporations, if this bunch we have in Florida doesn’t convince working people of that now, then they will never be convinced. The real kick in the butt is cutting corporate income tax, if I have to pay taxes then GE, Walmart etc should have to pay their fair share. I’m all for small business getting tax breaks to help them, but large corporations making billions of dollars in profit should be paying taxes.

  3. Dawn on April 8th, 2011 9:47 am

    Ok, so the Republicans say we, the people, cannot afford more taxes BUT those of us who are under FRS Pension can afford a pay decrease of anywhere from 2% to 6%? Is anyone other than me seeing this as hypocritical? If we can’t afford taxes, how can we afford a pay decrease.

    Yes, Lord VoldeScott is definitely wanting the middle class to pay for the budget. We do not need to decrease the corporate tax rate nor do we (I am also a property owner) need to decrease property taxes at this time.

    And don’t get me started on the other mandated UNFUNDED teacher merit pay. It is hilarious to hear how this will improve teacher pay when the districts don’t have the money to fund pay increases as it stands and even moreso after Lord VoldeScott’s desire to cut the education budget.

    As for raising insurance rates, well heck I can’t afford them as it stands. With my pay drop I won’t be able to afford them still. Yes, we need to tighten our belts, got it. But how dare Lord VoldeScott and his band of Repmentors tell us to tighten our belts while he loosens the belts of the corporations.

    I didn’t vote for the evil, twisted, deluded creep. Thanks so much to those of you who did. Death Eaters much?

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News