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Capitol Wields Big Budget Ax

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By CATHERINE DOLINSKI and WILLIAM MARCH

The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 15, 2009

TALLAHASSEE - K-12 education lost $466 million. County health departments lost $7.7 million. Pasco County kept $5 million for new businesses.

But a popular land conservation program vanished for the rest of the year.

The somber legislative session ended Wednesday with none of the usual self-congratulatory fanfare. In the end, the House and Senate approved a $2.6-billion package of state spending cuts and funding swaps to stave off a deficit this fiscal year.

Now the package goes to Gov. Charlie Crist for a signature.

Lawmakers cast their votes painfully aware that deeper ones soon will be necessary. Continuing plunges in tax collections are expected to leave Florida up to $4 billion in the hole next fiscal year, which starts July 1.

This week's cuts dwarf those that Crist had proposed, yet the governor has singled out only one line-item for possible veto: an $11-million, 20 percent reduction to bonuses for nationally certified teachers.

The state already cut the portion of the bonus program that rewards such teachers who mentor new peers.

Jean Clements, president of the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association, said that mentoring is important for teacher retention. This latest reduction, she said, means that some veteran teachers "won't have the time to provide that mentoring for free because they will have to look for ways to earn money to replace this income that they're losing."

Amid the budget shredding, Crist nabbed $10 million for a new program to provide loans to small businesses. Meanwhile, Rep. Will Weatherford and Sen. Mike Fasano rescued Pasco County's millions of economic development dollars from the House's chopping block.

Lawmakers and Crist approved the $5-million earmark in the spring, which is intended to lure companies to the county. "It's a way that we can help create jobs for Pasco County and the Tampa Bay area," said Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel.

Fasano, chairman of the Senate's transportation budget committee, also succeeded in protecting the state's transportation trust fund, from which House members wanted to take $200 million.

Already, said Fasano, R-New Port Richey, transportation projects are slowing down or altogether stalling because of real and expected drops in tax collections. Raiding the trust fund now, he said, would have hurt projects in the Bay area. "And here we are, one of the fastest growing areas not only in Florida but in the United States. If anything, we need to be focusing on taking care of our infrastructure and transportation needs."

Not everyone was impressed. "We're saying that repaving roads can't wait, but children and elders can," said Sen. Nan Rich, D-Weston. For example, she said, cuts to the guardian ad litem program will deny legal representation to 1,000 foster children who are supposed to have it.

Lawmakers took $700 million from the $1.2-billion Lawton Chiles Endowment Fund that supports health services for children and seniors. The state's raid on the endowment has incensed the family of former Gov. Lawton Chiles for whom the fund is named. Bud Chiles, son of the late governor, is threatening to sue the state.

Some of the biggest budget whacks hit K-12 public schools. Public education lost $466 million, of which $366 million will come out of school operating budgets.

MaryEllen Elia, superintendent of the Hillsborough County School District, said the district had prepared for its $26.7-million share of that cut. Based on the severity of future cuts, she said, the district probably will have to consider furloughs and layoffs.

The district is avoiding such measures this year, she said, "but we have to be realistic."

Lawmakers also cut $184.3 million from colleges, universities and research institutions - 4 percent from those with students and 6 percent from those without students. An exception: the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, which fought off a 6 percent cut proposed by the Senate. A House proposal of 4 percent, or $468,000, prevailed.

Throughout Wednesday, House and Senate Democrats repeated arguments made throughout the session: The cuts are worse than they had to be, because the Legislature could have raised money by closing corporate tax loopholes, ending certain sales tax exemptions and increasing cigarette taxes.

"It would seem that we would look at closing the loopholes and creating tax fairness in this state," said Senate Minority Leader Al Lawson, D-Tallahassee. "There is no fairness."

Reporter Catherine Dolinski can be reached at (850) 222-8382. Reporter William March can be reached at (813) 259-7761.

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