To Tallahassee and Back: House Budget Priorities Unveiled

The facts and figures of a state budget can be dry, dull things.  Numbers and percentages merely paint a stark, bottom-line picture that may be meaningless without being put in the context of what those numbers represent in the real world.  With the budget process heating up in Tallahassee it is the appropriate time to look at the budget figures being bandied about.  How to make them interesting is always a challenge. 

The House is putting the finishing touches on its budget proposal to fund the state from July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014.  At this moment it is expected that $74.4 billion dollars will be needed to pay for the services and other commitments the state has promised to its residents.  That figure represents an increase of 6.3% over the previous fiscal year.  A $200 million dollar settlement with the largest banks in the nation over foreclosure issues accounts for some of that increase.  An overall boost in tax collections due to an improving economy is another factor which leads to increased revenue.

There are three basic funds into which revenue is deposited (and subsequently appropriated from): the general revenue fund, state trust funds and federal dollars handed over to the state to fund various programs.  General revenue is the catch-all pot for taxes, fees and other collections that are not earmarked for a specific trust fund.  Trust funds are created for a specific purpose such as the Save Our Everglades Trust Fund, which pays for the restoration of “The River of Grass,” Florida’s most famous natural wonder.  Federal dollars are used, often as a match to contributions made by the state, for such programs as Medicaid and emergency response (health care for the uninsured poor and federally declared disasters, respectively).

There are six major areas that the state budget consists of: healthcare, education, transportation & economic development, justice, agriculture & natural resources and governmental operations.    Health care takes up the largest chunk of the budget.  As of this writing it is projected that health care programs will account for 42% of all expenditures made in the coming year.  Education is the second largest drain on the treasury with 27% of the budget committed to keeping schools and universities open for business.

Without going into mind-numbing detail, suffice it to say that the House budget proposal is chock full of funding plans for a myriad of services that range from supporting local non-profit services for the elderly to the operation of the state highway and turnpike system.  The proposed budget does not include tax increases for Floridians.  It also budgets the banking of $1.2 billion more dollars into reserves, which are used when unexpected drops in revenue occur. 

The House budget plan is but half of the equation, however.  The Senate has its own ideas regarding how to divvy up revenues and expenditures.  The governor plays an important role in this process as well.  Although he has made budget recommendations to the legislature, his true power lies in the veto pen.  The governor has the ability to veto specific line items.  In years past the governor, whomever it may have been, has been known to veto hundreds of millions of dollars in what they have considered wasteful spending.  Wasteful spending is often defined as spending on projects that have no statewide impact (those that benefit one small area or community are generally the favorite targets).  There is no overriding rule to gubernatorial vetoes, however. The decision to veto, or not veto, specific line items boils down to the individual fiscal philosophy of whomever occupies the governor’s office.

There is only one thing the Florida Legislature is constitutionally mandated to do each session and that is passing a state budget.  The budget itself remains a fluid object at the moment.  With just over four weeks to go until the session ends, there is still much that needs to be done.  However, the outlook is good that the budget will be voted on and on its way to the governor before the final session gavel falls on May 3^rd.

Please check back in the coming weeks for updates on the budget process.  If you have any questions about what is being proposed for the coming fiscal year, or any other issue facing the Florida Legislature, please leave me a comment.  I will respond in a reply or a future blog post.  Thank you for your loyal readership!