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Lawmakers divvy up extra $4-billion

Spending plans that include big increases in public school spending are okayed amid rare bipartisanship.

TALLAHASSEE - New money has flooded Florida's treasury for months, thanks to a hot real estate market and a huge surge in retail sales after four hurricanes last year.

Now the politicians get to spend it.

A state Legislature that prides itself on fiscal conservatism has some $4-billion more to spend on everything from public schools to drainage projects.

Amid a rare bipartisan spirit, the House Thursday joined the Senate in unanimously passing budgets that avoid most anticipated health care cuts, send plenty of money back home and include the biggest increase in public school spending in years.

But the two biggest items separating the chambers - tax cuts and money to accommodate growth - remained unresolved.

The spending plans are about $1-billion apart, and a joint committee of House and Senate lawmakers will spend the next three weeks working on a compromise.

Neither budget includes tax cuts, which is why Democrats said they voted for it. But the House still plans to pursue them, including eliminating the intangibles tax, a nine-day sales tax holiday and repeal of a by-the-drink tax in bars and restaurants.

The Senate won't budge on tax cuts until it gets money for the backlog of needs driven by development. Even that's not a sure thing.

"We're not going to rob Peter to pay Paul. This is a new day for budgeting in Tallahassee," said Lee, R-Brandon.

"My feeling is, until we have a dedicated funding source to pay for the infrastructure deficits . . . then to me it is irresponsible to continue with tax cuts."

House Speaker Allan Bense favors tax cuts. "I think they're important. I think it's one of the prime reasons why Florida's been so successful in the last two or three years," said Bense, R-Panama City.

Gov. Jeb Bush supports the Senate's determination to find money for growth, citing Pasco County as a vivid example of Florida's planning problems.

"The place is busting loose with all sorts of new housing developments, but the roads, well, traffic is pretty bad, isn't it? That's an understatement," Bush said.

One of many budget skirmishes ahead concerns pork barrel projects, or "turkeys" in Tallahassee parlance. It's hard for lawmakers to say no to constituents, especially when they expect $1-billion in additional money when new revenue estimates are released next week.

House and Senate leaders noted similarities in education and health care spending.

The House wants 6 percent more for schools, the Senate 5 percent. The House spends $557-million more to reduce class sizes and $387-million to launch voluntary prekindergarten, while the Senate spends an additional $544.5-million on class size and $406.5-million on pre-K.

The House gives Pinellas students 5.4 percent more money per pupil next year, and Hillsborough 6 percent more. The Senate gives Pinellas 3.9 percent more, and Hillsborough 5.8 percent.

Despite all the extra revenue, legislators are raising tuition at community colleges and universities, delaying higher staffing requirements at nursing homes and imposing new limits on the number of prescriptions Medicaid recipients can receive each month.

A proposal to eliminate the Florida Parole Commission also fizzled. The House gave it another 11 months, postponing a decision till next year.

Neither chamber included the health care cuts many social services advocates feared. Both budgets fund the Medically Needy program, which provides health care for low income, very sick Floridians who lack health insurance. Both fund prenatal care for poor women at the maximum amount allowed under federal Medicaid rules.

Both include dentures for the poor, sick, too. But both also restrict the number of drugs Medicaid patients will be able to access.

In the House, the bitter partisanship of recent years was kept to a minimum.

House Democrats tried several amendments aimed at spotlighting their priorities.

Democrats proposed shifting money from Gov. Jeb Bush's school recognition program, which offers cash bonuses to high-performing schools, and spending it on teacher pay raises, need-based student aid or the new prekindergarten program for 4-year-olds.

Rep. Loranne Ausley, D-Tallahassee, said the House's $2,500-per-student allocation for the pre-K program is not enough money for many child-care center operators to participate.

"Let's not do this program on the cheap," Ausley pleaded.

The amendments failed by wide margins but gave Democrats ammunition in the 2006 campaigns.

Democrats also tried to end a 4-year-old program, begun by Republicans, that offers free liability insurance to teachers so they don't have to join a union that supports the Democratic Party. Republican lawmakers defended the $4-million program as a bargain, even though the total payout in claims after four years is $65,000.

The House budget passed unanimously, the first time in memory both sides agreed on a budget.

Even the Democrat who is consistently most critical of the Republicans' agenda, Rep. Susan Bucher, D-West Palm Beach, joined the love-in.

Times staff writers Alisa Ulferts and Carrie Johnson contributed to this report. Steve Bousquet can be reached at bousquet@sptimes.com