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Special Session On Budget Is Put On Hold

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By JEROME R. STOCKFISCH and CATHERINE DOLINSKI, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 6, 2007

TALLAHASSEE - Saying there is 'still work to be done,' legislative leaders on Wednesday postponed a special session to trim the state budget that was scheduled to begin Sept. 18.

Lawmakers were expecting to gather in the capital through the first week of October to cut $1.1 billion from the $72 billion spending plan for the 2007-08 fiscal year, which began July 1. They are reacting to warnings from analysts who estimate that state revenue from such sources as sales tax and real estate transactions will be significantly lower than originally expected this year and beyond.

During committee hearings last month, a rift developed between the Senate, which wants 4 percent across-the-board cuts to department budgets, and the House, which wants individually targeted cutbacks.

A letter to lawmakers from Senate President Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie, and House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-West Miami, did not allude to specific logjams. But the leaders state that a common denominator for productive special sessions is 'an initial agreement on a framework for action,' which the Legislature apparently has not reached.

'While there has been tremendous progress, there is still work to be done,' the letter states. The session is 'on hold,' the leaders said, and although no substitute start date was set, 'we remain confident that an agreement will be reached and that we will have a fall special session.'

The budget cuts will come chiefly to programs backed by general revenue, the unencumbered pot of money raised through the sales tax and other sources. General revenue supports less than half of the overall budget - the majority is backed by dedicated trust funds - which is why the budget ax is cutting so deeply.

The Senate is determined not to raid dedicated trust funds to prevent cuts to areas such as education. The state's transportation trust fund, one of the largest, must remain intact to provide roads and other vital transportation needs, said Sen. Mike Haridopolos, R-Indialantic, chairman of his chamber's Finance and Tax Committee.

'The Senate came out with an early position that we're going to make sure each part of the government feels this equally,' Haridopolos said.

Rep. Joe Pickens, R-Palatka, told The Associated Press that one of the holdups apparently was an inability to agree on the level of cuts to each major section of the budget such as education and human services. 'It's wise to go into a special session when the allocations have been agreed to,' Pickens said.

Erin Isaac, a spokeswoman for Gov. Charlie Crist, said the governor 'is very disappointed that the House and Senate could not reach an agreement.' Crist 'will continue to work with the Legislature to work through this challenging task,' she said.

The governor is expected to offer his own suggestions for budget cuts this week.

Reporters Jerome R. Stockfisch and Catherine Dolinski can be reached at (850) 222-8382, jstockfisch@tampatrib.com or cdolinski@tampatrib.com.

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