TALLAHASSEE - A cultural exchange organization that helped House Speaker Johnnie Byrd arrange a campaign trip to Israel could be $200,000 richer, thanks to a special appropriation lawmakers approved last month in the state budget.
Lawmakers set aside the money for the Florida-Israel Institute, an educational and economic development group whose mission is to strengthen ties between Florida and Israel.
The institute helped Byrd, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, set the itinerary for his fact-finding trip to Israel this month.
Byrd campaign spokesman Wayne Garcia denied a quid pro quo.
"To say the assistance was arranged through getting that appropriation really isn't accurate," Garcia said. The people who helped the campaign did so by making phone calls and suggestions, not by paying for any part of the trip, Garcia said.
Florida-Israel Institute, which is affiliated with Florida Atlantic University and Broward Community College, is one of the state's 11 "linkage institutes" - academic offices housed and sponsored by colleges to promote relations between Florida and other countries.
But the Florida-Israel Institute, based in Davie, appears to be the only one singled out in the budget this year for a special appropriation.
Gov. Jeb Bush signaled Friday that the $200,000 could fall victim to his line-item veto pen as he looks to reserve money for long-term commitments, such as increased Medicaid costs and voter mandates to shrink class sizes and launch a universal prekindergarten program.
Bush is expected to sign the state's 2004-05 budget Friday.
"Those things are important because they're embedded in our Constitution and we have an obligation to do them," Bush said. "And they're far more important than any well-intended project that doesn't pass our criteria."
Florida-Israel Institute director Nancy Rosen said she doesn't know how the money got into the state budget but said it had nothing to do with the Byrd trip. The institute does not have a lobbyist.
"We do lots of good work, and people have heard of us," Rosen said."Enterprise Florida has an office in Israel. The state of Florida is interested in Israel. It is one of the high-tech capitals," Rosen said.
"I do know that we didn't pay for his trip, and there was no quid pro quo," Rosen said.
Neither the Senate nor Bush included the $200,000 in their proposed budgets. The money was added to the final agreement during budget negotiations with the House.
Normally, the Florida-Israel Institute gets about $40,000 a year each from FAU and Broward Community College to cover its overhead, including Rosen's salary. FAU Senior Vice President for Financial Affairs Ken Jessell said the university hopes to make the institute self-sufficient in a few years through grants and other fundraising.
Although a special appropriation in the state budget is unusual, it has happened before.
Two years ago the Florida-Japan Institute, sponsored by the University of South Florida, the University of West Florida and St. Petersburg College, got about $30,000 to bring in speakers and host other events, said JoAnn McCarthy, dean of international affairs at USF.
Unlike Florida-Israel Institute's Rosen, McCarthy has myriad duties besides coordinating the Florida-Japan Institute.
"It's just a minor piece of our international affairs program," McCarthy said.
- Times staff writers Steve Bousquet and Joni James contributed to this report.
