The difference in House and Senate budgets centers on social services. Will they be cut deeply, or funded with one-time revenue sources?
By ALISA ULFERTS and STEVE BOUSQUET
Published April 2, 2004
TALLAHASSEE - Florida lawmakers moved closer to a spending plan for the state Thursday, but $1-billion still separates the House and Senate, setting up a battle in the coming weeks over how deeply the state should cut social services.
The House approved a $57.7-billion budget by an 88-31 vote. In a departure from the past, House members did not debate the budget after they amended it, which can take hours. But many of the usual flashpoints were missing: The pet projects House members tout back home won't be spelled out until after lawmakers begin budget negotiations April 12.
Senators debated their $56.5-billion budget late Thursday night, with a final vote expected today.
The House budget relied heavily on one-time sources of revenue - hundreds of millions from the federal government and from state trust funds earmarked for specific programs. That money helped the House balance its budget without painful social service cuts.
The Senate took a different approach, cutting social services so the budget does not depend on money that might not be around next year.
The difference is a major sticking point between the two chambers, allowing the House to spend some $800-million more on social services than the Senate.
"The Legislature has a moral obligation to spend the people's money on the services needed today," said House Appropriations Chairman Bruce Kyle, R-Fort Myers.
But senators, prodded by their next president, Republican Tom Lee of Brandon, say the state cannot continue to build its budget on shaky revenue.
"The word trust in trust fund means something," said Budget Committee Chairman Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie. Many of the trust funds were created on the promise that the money would always be there.
While calling the cuts "heartbreakers," Pruitt said if they are not made now, next year will be worse.
Both budgets increase university tuition by 7.5 percent. The House increases community college tuition by 7.5 percent, while the Senate increases it by 5 percent.
The Senate spends $11.6-billion on public schools, increasing per student spending by 4.4 percent, while the House spends $11.8-billion on schools and increases student spending by 5 percent.
Both chambers spend $100-million on various water projects, and both spend $300-million on the popular land conservation program Florida Forever. They are close on beach restoration - the Senate spends $25-million, the House $22.5-million.
Taxpayers get a break on sales taxes for back-to-school shopping, though details are still being worked out. The House wants to exempt clothing and other items of value up to $100, while the Senate favors a $50 cap.
But the Senate budget slices some $300-million from social service programs, and Senate Democrats lined up to try to put some of it back.
Sen. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, tried to persuade the Senate to add money for a popular antitobacco education program for youths. By not investing in the successful program now, it will cost the state more later in higher medical costs, Klein said.
"This is an obligation, a commitment not only to our families but to our taxpayers," Klein said.
"You are going to make a decision this afternoon that will ring a death knell for the tobacco program ... or you will fully fund it," Klein said. The Senate includes no funding for the program, while the House would spend up to $16-million.
Rep. Carole Green, R-Fort Myers, who oversees health care spending in the House, said she would keep an eye on the tobacco program when the two chambers meet jointly later this month.
"We'll be negotiating that as we go forward," Green said.
Sen. Mandy Dawson urged the Senate to avoid a cut that would eliminate all but prescription drug coverage for catastrophically ill people in the Medically Needy program. The program, which has 27,000 people enrolled, is not required by the federal government.
"We can't just put our heads in the sand and walk away and tell these people we'll deal with you on another day - if you're still around," said Dawson, D-Fort Lauderdale.
Democrats also urged their GOP colleagues to restore funding for nursing homes that will be forced by state law to increase their staffing levels next year. The House funds the increase but delays it for two months, while the Senate eliminates it entirely.
