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Governor Signs $66 Billion Budget For Coming Fiscal Year

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By CATHERINE DOLINSKI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 11, 2008

TALLAHASSEE -Gov. Charlie Crist has signed the state's $66 billion budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, approving nearly every request for money that lawmakers made for parks, pools, shelters, roads and other local projects.

The budget includes $2 million to provide a small staff, offices and operating money for the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority. Last year he vetoed start-up money for the agency.

Lawmakers had weeded out many local requests during the spring session, when they voted for a budget that would fall short of the current year's spending levels by $4 billion.

Among the dozens of Bay area projects that made the cut and were signed into law by Crist today:

•Duck pond area drainage improvements water project ($400,000)

•Pasco County regional hurricane shelter-health clinic for the uninsured and underinsured ($2 million)

•H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute ($11.7 million)

•Port of Tampa seaport ($2.1 million)

•Port of Tampa rail improvement ($1.8 million)

•Temple Terrace pedestrian-highway improvements ($3.1 million)

•University of South Florida-Florida Mental Health Institute autism program ($1.2 million)

Crist vetoed $251 million from the budget -- $250 million of which would have funded loans to small, private companies offering property insurance to expand the market and reduce the number of homeowners in the state-run Citizens Property Insurance Corp., which is Floridians' insurance company of last resort.

In his veto message, Crist said that the Capital Build-Up Incentive Program is "well-intended" and already has had the "net effect of removing nearly 200,000 policies from Citizens" in addition to keeping an estimated 480,000 out of the Citizens pool.

Though the original money came from the state's general fund, he said, the incentive program in 2009-10 would draw from policyholders' surplus – thereby diminishing Citizens' ability to cover losses in the event of a catastrophe.

"Taking away $250 million from Citizens' ability to pay claims will substantially increase the likelihood of assessments for Floridians across the state," Crist said.

Reporter Catherine Dolinski can be reached at (850) 222-8382 or cdolinski@tampatrib.com.

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