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Funding formulas stiff Florida

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 17, 2009

It is no surprise that Florida is dead last in per-capita stimulus funding. Flawed federal funding formulas routinely shortchange the state. Florida leaders must resolve to end Washington's neglect.

Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink sounded the alarm earlier this year with a report that found Florida was 45th in the nation in the amount of federal grant money it receives per capita.

She reported that if Florida simply got the per-capita national average, the state would have gotten another $6 billion a year. That's about the amount of the budget shortfall this year that forced lawmakers to increase the tax on cigarettes and boost driver's license and other fees.

Much of the overall funding problem is that Washington relies on outdated census data that hurt high-growth states such as Florida and Texas. For instance, for every dollar in gas taxes Florida sends to Washington, Congress returns only 87 cents for transportation projects, though Florida has had one of the highest growth rates in the nation over the last 20 years.

So when the feds divvied up the $198 billion part of the stimulus pot that was to go to state infrastructure projects and social services, Florida once again didn't get its fair share. Yet its 10.2 percent unemployment rate is one of the highest in the nation.

The Wall Street Journal found Florida is receiving just $505 per person out of that specific pool of stimulus funds. In contrast, Wyoming, which had the lowest unemployment rate in the nation at 3.9 percent in February, is getting $1,074 per person.

South Dakota and North Dakota, which have similarly low unemployment rates, also are getting more than twice as much funding per person than Florida.

Florida is hardly alone in being slighted. North Carolina, with an 11 percent unemployment rate, got only $538 per person. Oregon, with an unemployment rate also of about 11 percent, got $575.

Dominic Calabro, the president and CEO of Florida TaxWatch, says Florida will continue to be stiffed as long as Washington relies on old formulas that favor Rust Belt states.

Some members of Florida's congressional delegation, particularly Sens. Bill Nelson and Mel Martinez, have argued for change. But too many states like things as they are. Even Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, whose home state of Nevada fares poorly under existing formulas, couldn't push through funding reform.

Calabro urges state leaders to band with other influential high-growth states, such as Texas, that are being shorted.

Sink says state leaders need to more closely monitor how Florida is faring in Washington and be proactive. The state doesn't usually raise much of a fuss.

She also notes the state sometimes contributes to its funding woes by failing to provide the matching funds necessary to obtain federal dollars. Lawmakers need to recognize that providing matching funds will be a good investment.

"The way things are done now is inequitable," Calabro says. "It shouldn't be that way in the future. We need to be thoughtful, strategic and aggressive in pursuing reform."

Otherwise, Florida will continue to have second-rate status in Washington.

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