House, Senate at odds over budget
TALLAHASSEE — The House passed an $81.2 billion budget Thursday, setting up what could encumber negotiations with the Senate, which on Wednesday approved a spending plan that’s $4 billion higher.
Aside from the wide gap in dollars, the chambers are at odds over property taxes, education programs, hospital funding, state workers’ salaries, environmental projects and economic development agencies — all with just a little more than three weeks to go in the session.
Budget battles are nothing new in Tallahassee, but House Speaker Richard Corcoran’s declaration that he won’t budge on property taxes and borrowing funds could make it more difficult for lawmakers to bridge the divide.
In nearly every way, the House is more
frugal than the Senate. The House’s bottom line is $1.1 billion less than the current year; the Senate spending plan is a 3 percent increase. Although there’s a $100 million projected surplus, Corcoran, R-Land O’Lakes, wants to prevent projected shortfalls in future years by cutting spending now.
“What we don’t want to do is [saddle] the state with a bunch of money, a bunch of debt that we’re not going to be able to pay,” said House budget chief Carlos Trujillo, R-Miami. “Our budget puts us in a position that whoever comes after us will be able to govern and lead and make their own budgetary decisions.”
Democrats, however, counter that there is plenty of money available to meet the state’s needs.
“Are we in the midst of some sort of severe recession in this state? I think not,” said Rep. Ben Diamond, D-St. Petersburg.
The House wants to reduce the required tax rate imposed by local governments for K-12 schools so that property tax revenues for education stay flat at $7.6 billion. The Senate wants to keep the rate level, which would allow rising property values to boost revenues to $8.14 billion. The House K-12 budget comes to $7,224 per student, the Senate’s is $7,414 per student.
On health care, both chambers slash Medicaid by hundreds of millions of dollars, but Gov. Rick Scott said Wednesday the federal government has agreed to pay $1.5 billion for a program paying hospitals for charity care. The money for the low income pool, or LIP, program could alleviate deep cuts in both budgets, but Corcoran is still hesitant to count on the money.
“We don’t have the money yet. We have an announcement; that’s all we have,” Corcoran said.
Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, has championed a bill to spend $1.5 billion to buy land south of Lake Okeechobee that would store polluted water and prevent runoffs into nearby rivers. Some of the money would be borrowed by selling bonds in future years, however. Corcoran has been consistently opposed to using bonds to pay for budget items.
The chambers also are far apart on economic development programs. Corcoran has been in an ongoing battle with Gov. Rick Scott over Visit Florida, a tourism marketing group the House wants to cut, and Enterprise Florida, a group that lures businesses to expand in the state, which the House wants to eliminate.
Visit Florida is funded at $25 million in the House and at $76 million in the Senate, as Scott requested. For Enterprise Florida, the House has zeroed out its funding, but the Senate provides $85 million for it.
Still, other issues dividing the chambers could seep into budget talks. The Senate wants a new deal with the Seminole Tribe that allows more gambling options in the state, which would generate $300 million more in revenues, but the House prefers an agreement that’s more restrictive. The House has no pay raises for state workers, but the Senate has $219.7 million for salary hikes.
Negron wants to boost funding for universities to hire elite faculty and researchers; Corcoran prefers to tell colleges to use their reserves and impose restrictions on universities’ foundations. Corcoran wants more than $200 million to expand a program paying teachers bonuses based on SAT scores, a program the Senate has historically opposed.
Despite all the obstacles, Negron said he’s optimistic about reaching a final deal with the House, but added that both sides will have to bend before talks can even start.
“Neither side, the House or the Senate, has the right to dictate unilateral terms of surrender to the other side,” Negron said.
The budget is for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Lawmakers must have a budget in place by May 5, the scheduled end of the legislative session, to prevent an extended or special session.