State: Veto ax hangs over lawmakers' local projects

TALLAHASSEE -- The phone lines were burning up between the state Capitol and cities across Florida on Tuesday as Gov. Jeb Bush took veto pen in hand and lawmakers called to beg, plead or just calmly explain why their hometown project should get state funding this year.

"We are waiting in limbo . . . wondering if the governor will have a fat red veto pen or a thin red veto pen," said state Sen. Jim Sebesta, R-St. Petersburg.

They will know by this afternoon, when Bush signs the $50-billion state budget.

Bush said Tuesday he wants to veto provisions in the budget transferring $200-million from environmental reserves into the state's all-purpose account. But he's not sure how he would plug that hole.

Lawmakers left only $98-million in the rainy-day account, which is tapped when the state has emergencies such as wildfires and hurricanes and when bills come in faster than tax revenue.

That might motivate Bush to veto more local projects. Some projects, hard-fought during a tight budget year and a series of rancorous special sessions, will end up on the cutting room floor. Rep. Sandra Murman, R-Tampa, once called it "our annual Day of Disappointment."

In St. Petersburg, Sebesta worries about the fate of the Salvation Army Children's Village, which tries to keep together families in crisis. The governor's office let Sebesta know that the $581,805 appropriation for the project might be in jeopardy this year.

State Rep. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, says his favorite project might be in jeopardy: $500,000 for a new building at the New Port Richey Marine Institute, which helps troubled kids.

Fasano heard from a Bush aide that while the Marine Institute's funding might not make the cut, millions for the Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota would stay in the budget. The Ringling project has a powerful sponsor: outgoing Senate President John McKay.

"I told them, if you're going to fund millions of dollars to the Senate president's pet project of the Ringling museum, we certainly should be able to fund $500,000 for our Pasco County youth."

Bush has heard these complaints before. His first year in office, the Florida Senate was so angry at his vetoes it took him to court, charging that Bush violated the state Constitution by selectively slicing out parts of line item appropriations. The Florida Supreme Court sided with the Senate.

Early in Bush's term, lawmakers complained that he slashed worthwhile projects along with the usual stadiums and festivals, known derisively as "turkeys."

To mend hurt feelings, Bush assigned members of his staff to be liaisons to lawmakers. And so, over the weekend and into Tuesday, the governor's staff made call after call about projects.

"When they called me, they said: Which projects are important to you?" said Rep. David Russell, R-Brooksville. "Naturally, they are all important to me."

Sen. Les Miller, D-Tampa, said he had a lot of local projects for Hillsborough County in this year's budget, including $100,000 for an Alzheimer's facility in Ybor City, but he hadn't heard from the governor's office about any of them.

"Since Gov. Bush has been in there, I haven't fared too well," Miller said.

- The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Lucy Morgan

From the Times state desk