Talk is that Bush's veto pen may cut $300-million worth of pet projects.
By ALISA ULFERTS
Published May 26, 2004
TALLAHASSEE - Gov. Jeb Bush has spared lawmakers the brunt of his veto pen the last two years running.
Times were lean, and lawmakers stuck close to Bush's guidelines for acceptable community projects.
But this year lawmakers are bracing for what they fear could be as much as $300-million in vetoes.
An increase in one-time money that fueled pet project spending will result in more vetoes, Bush said Tuesday. He's expected to sign the $58-billion budget later this week.
Bush wouldn't say exactly how much he intends to cut.
But lawmakers across the state have begun getting phone calls from Bush's staff, who ask detailed questions intended to help winnow the list of surviving projects.
While many of the projects he plans to veto were funded with "the best intentions," Bush said the money is needed for obligations the state will have in the next few years, such as skyrocketing Medicaid costs and increases in education spending.
But lawmakers defended their spending Tuesday, saying community projects are an excellent use for one-time money that might not be around next year.
"I realize the projects are politically vulnerable because they've been labeled as parochial or political in nature. But frankly they are a really good use of nonrecurring money," said Sen. Tom Lee, the Brandon Republican in line to be the next Senate president.
Indeed, Bush has discouraged lawmakers from spending such windfall money on programs like health care that require annual funding. That was the reason Bush gave earlier this year for using $369-million of a nearly $1-billion federal windfall to lure the Scripps Research Institute to Florida.
And that was the reason Senate President Jim King, R-Jacksonville, gave when he told senators to find worthwhile community projects to spend windfall money on rather than use it on health care or education.
But Bush said Tuesday the financial pressures on the state are too great to do anything with the money but save it.
