To Tallahassee and Back: The Budget - What a Difference One Year Makes

Well, one of the most anticipated events of the legislative session occurred this week and that was the signing/ vetoing of the state budget.  The one constitutionally mandated task of the Florida Legislature is to prepare and present to the governor a budget for the next fiscal year.  This legislative session saw the unfolding of one of the smoothest budget processes in recent memory.  The budget was completed and passed by the House and the Senate in a timely fashion.  It was presented unusually early to the governor for his consideration.  The governor took action on the budget not at the last minute but with time to spare.  From a procedural point of view the state budget was a complete success.

But, and there is a "but" in there, the budget as presented to the governor was not the budget that he signed.  Yes, about 95% of it remained intact, but due to the power of the veto pen, about 5% of it disappeared.  How did that happen you ask?  Well, let me tell you!

Prior to the start of the annual legislative session the governor is required to present a budget to the legislature.  This is often a two-step process.  He turns over his initial budget and then may follow that up with a supplemental budget which takes into account changes in revenue projections and other factors.  When the governor presented his budget this past January he recommended spending of $74.2 billion, the largest proposed budget in Florida’s history.

In the governor’s proposed budget he lays out his vision for how the state of Florida will be run in the coming fiscal year.  However, it is the legislature, not the governor, which actually writes the budget.  The governor’s budget is often consulted and used as an outline but it is truly the will of the 160 members of the legislative branch, as directed by the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate, which guides the construction of the document that returns to the governor’s desk months later for his consideration.

The governor wields tremendous power with the line-item veto.  Hard fought projects and programs, often the result of months of negotiation, can get wiped out with the single slash of a veto pen.  The governor’s veto authority is one that our state constitution gives him and is one that is often widely used.  With explanations laid out in his veto letter to the secretary of state, the governor vetoed approximately $368 million out of a final budget of about $74.4 billion, making it even larger than the governor’s proposed budget.  This year’s budget vetoes represent everything from money to build homeless shelters, fund drug treatment programs, build and renovate college and university facilities and water system upgrades, to name just a few.  In 2012 the budget that was presented to the governor weighed in at $69.9 billion. At that time he vetoed about $142.7 million, a fraction of this year’s veto total.  A good conclusion one can draw from the sheer size of the budget is that Florida’s economy must be on the upswing.

Once the dust settles on the vetoed projects, and the legislature begins to move forward planning for next year, one important and little known fact remains.  For children in Pasco County who may have a disability, their summer camp through the Pasco Association for Challenged Kids (PACK) will go forward.  This three week program for kids with a wide range of disabilities will receive $36,000 in state dollars, a mere drop in the bucket of a $74 billion dollar budget.  But, more than some programs, the impact of those dollars will be felt.  Long a Representative Mike Fasano priority, the summer camp is an example of the best of what Florida can do for at least some of its residents.  Several dozen children who would have nowhere else to go this summer will have plenty to do because the state of Florida sees the value in supporting this fine organization’s mission to serve children with great physical and developmental challenges.  Amid the rubble of a heavily vetoed budget, the PACKs of the state make things a little bit brighter and remind us that the numbers in the budget do represent services to actual people.

If you have any question about this year’s state budget, or any other legislative matter, please leave me a comment.  I will answer in either a return comment or a future blog post.