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Florida state budget

The Florida State Legislature passed the $69.9 billion FY2013 Florida state budget on March 9, 2012.^[1] Gov. Rick Scott signed the budget into law on April 17, 2012, after vetoing $142.7 million in spending.^[2]

Florida has a total state debt of approximately $139,156,956,000, when calculated by adding the total of outstanding official debt, pension and other post-employment benefits (OPEB) liabilities, Unemployment Trust Fund loans, and the budget gap. ^[3]

Although the state had been anticipating a budget surplus,^[4] revised revenue projections released in September and October of 2011 said that the outlook was bleak and the state could face a significant shortfall of up to$1.7 billion through FY2013.^[5][6]

See also: The Florida State Budget on State Budget Solutions

[edit] FY2013 State Budget

The Florida State Legislature passed the $69.9 billion FY2013 Florida state budget on March 9, 2012.^[8] The budget passed by the legislature can be found here. Gov. Rick Scott signed the budget into law on April 17, 2012, after vetoing $142.7 million in spending.^[9] The veto list can found here.

A highlight of the budget is a $ increase in K-12 education funding, which was a priority of the governor.^[10] The additional funding bring the state funds to education to a total of $17.2 billion, equal to an increase of $150 per student.^[8]

Other budget highlights include:

• closing six prisons;^[8]
• eliminating 4,400 jobs, nearly 3.6 percent of the state’s work force;^[8]
• Cuts Medicaid payments to hospitals by 7.5 percent;^[8]
• Raises child abuse investigators’ pay by $4,000 a year;^[8]
• Increases Medicaid budget by $305 million for new cases;^[8]
• Pay freeze for state workers for 6th year in a row^[8]

[edit] Legislative proposed budget

On Feb. 28, 2012, legislative leaders announced that the House and Senate reached a compromise on the state budget, including using $300 million from higher education reserves, and that a conference committee would be convened to finalize the details of the budget.^[11] The conference committee reached an agreement with both chambers of the legislature passed HB 5001 on April 6, 2012, and passing it on to the governor.^[12] The governor said he did not anticipate making anywhere near the $615 million in budget vetoes that he made the previous year.^[13]

Senate's proposed budget

The head of the Senate's Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services Appropriations proposed a $70.5 billion general fund on Feb 8, 2012. It would slash general revenue spending on Medicaid by $218.7 million and cut $86.5 million from adult mental health and substance abuse treatment programs. The House and Governor's budgets increased funding in these areas to restore cuts made last year.^[14]

The Senate passed its $71 billion budget, SB 7050, on Feb., 2012. The budget as passed raises college tuition by 3 percent and permits universities to raise tuition up to 15 percent. The budget provides no across-the-board pay raises for state workers for the sixth year in a row and the elimination of 3,800 full-time jobs in state government, most of which are unfilled. It also reserves $2.2 billion for emergencies and contingencies.^[8]

The Senate vote sets up negotiations with the House over the next 10 days to seek a budget compromise to bring the 2012 session to a timely end by March 9.^[8]

House of Representatives proposed budget

On Jan. 27, 2012, the Republican-controlled House released its $69.2 billion proposed spending plan, HB 5001, which was $3 billion more than the governor's proposal in part because it rejects some of the extensive cuts in health care programs that he recommended.^[15] The House passed its plan on Feb. 9, 2012.^[16]

Education

The House budget increases spending on public schools by more than $1 billion, which is 2.27% increase in per-student funding. It sets aside nearly $400 million to provide construction money for universities, community colleges and for charter schools. It includes no money for school districts. It recommended an 8 percent hike in higher education tuition, whereas the the governor's budget kept tuition flat.^[15]

Environment

The House budget includes $35 million for Everglades restoration, although the Senate budget does not. The House budget also does not include the governor's $15 million for the state’s land-conservation program, Florida Forever, which the Senate also did not include that, either.^[16]

Cuts

The House budget includes the closing of driver license officers, a reduction in the number of probation officers, and even the elimination of a handful of investigators who handle arson and consumer fraud cases.^[15]

Governor's proposed budget

Highlights of the governor's proposed budget as outlined by his administration can be found here.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott proposed a $66.4 billion budget that includes a $1 billion increase in K-12 education funding despite the fact that lawmakers must address a $2 billion shortfall.^[17] The governor hopes to get the money for schools by cutting Medicaid payments to hospitals. The proposed budget cuts 4,500 state jobs, raises monthly medical premiums for highly-paid state employees as well as lawmakers. It also continues privatization of the prison system despite legal challenges to that plan.^[18] The proposed budget can be found here.

In October 2011, state economists predicted that the state's tax collections will fall short by $1.3 billion to $1.7 billion over the next two years.^[19] That is a big departure from forecasts by Florida's Office of Economic and Demographic Research in August 2011 that the state could see a surplus of $300 million in FY2013. At the same time, economists cautioned that forecast was shaky because growth over the next year could be undermined by recent economic woes and said it was likely that the forecast would be revised downward.^[20] That became reality when the revised forecast was released the following month, with predictions of a deficit, not a surplus.^[5]

Lawmakers requested that state agencies submit proposals for FY2013 that show 10 percent budget cuts by September 2011.^[20] Some agencies, however, requested more money, not less. For example, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services requested $7.2 million for new firefighting equipment.^[21]

The Legislature also plans on setting aside at least $1 billion in a reserve fund for emergencies.^[21]

State economists said growth in Florida's once-exploding Medicaid program is slowing and predicted Medicaid spending will increase by $1.3 billion, or 6.3 percent, next fiscal year. That translates to the state likely paying an additional $900 million more in FY2013 than it did in FY2012, for a total of nearly $5.2 billion spent on Medicaid in FY2013.^[22] Gov. Scott said he hadn’t anticipated a FY2013 deficit, partly because he expected to get a federal waiver letting the state expand its use of managed care for recipients of Medicaid, but the federal government has not granted the necessary permission for the waiver.^[23] Projected Medicaid costs for FY2013 are at $21.6 billion.^[18]

Florida will lose approximately $550 million in federal education stimulus funds, according to the governor.^[24]

[edit] FY2012 State Budget

• See past state budgets

On May 26, 2011, Gov. Rick Scott signed a new $69 billion Florida budget but vetoed a record $615 million after lawmakers previously chopped nearly $4 billion. The plan eliminates about 4,500 state positions, most of them filled. School districts expect to lay off thousands more due to spending cuts. ^[25] The budget bill, Senate Bill 2000, can be found here. The budget is $4.6 billion smaller than 2006, and spending is down two percent from FY2011.^[26]

Among the cuts Scott made are: ^[27]

• Nearly $4.8 million to public television and radio Stations
• Nearly $14 million from the various University of South Florida campuses
• A request by the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority to roll over its unspent balance
• $305 million in a state trust fund for environmental land acquisition
• Three line items for Daytona State College: $7.8 million for a remodel of and addition to the News-Journal Center, $2.4 million for remodeling the college's existing theater center and $3.012 million for renovation of a classroom building and air conditioning system improvements that college officials said would save $200,000 a year in energy costs ^[28]
• $10 million appropriation for St. Johns River restoration ^[29]
• $12 million for a national veteran's homeless support group
• $6 million in economic aid to the Florida Panhandle.
• $165 million for construction, remodeling and renovation projects earmarked for Florida's universities, state colleges and K-12 public schools. ^[30]
• $278.8 million from the Division of Emergency Management, approximately 40 percent of the agency's budget^[31]
• A full list of vetoed items can be found here

Pensions

Under the state budget, the state took 3 percent of salaries of teachers, police and state employees and put the money into the Florida Retirement System, replacing more than $1 billion of the state’s obligation to the pension fund. Unions including the Florida Education Association, Police Benevolent Association and the SEIU Florida Public Service Union filed the lawsuit on June 20, 2011, in Leon County, claiming that state law expressly provides that employees do not have to contribute part of their salaries to the state retirement system unless they agree to the change in their negotiated contracts.^[32]

On March 6, 2012, Leon County Court Judge Jackie Fulford ruled that the decision last year to cut public employee salaries was an unconstitutional breach of the state's contract and ordered the money returned with interest.^[33] The state appealed, which put a hold on the court's order to repay the money, and Representative Will Weatherford said he thought that the appeal would be successful and the decision would not impact the state budget. ^[34]

Changes in the Florida's pension laws gave government agencies across the state a one-time windfall. Some agencies, such as Brevard Public Schools, will shore up an overall budget that lost $40 million in lawmakers' efforts to bring in a balanced state budget. Others, such as the Brevard County Sheriffs Office, will use it to give employees raises and cost-of-living adjustments. ^[35]

Medicaid and Healthy Start

There are approximately 3 million Medicaid recipients in Florida.^[36] On June 2, 2011, Gov. Scott signed two bills, HB 7107 and HB 7109, that privatized portion of the state's Medicaid program, which lawmakers said was overwhelming the state budget and needed to be privatized to rein in costs and improve patient care. It will cover the entire population in October 2014. The bills also require providers to generate a 5 percent savings the first year. The plan divides the bill into 11 regions where managed care plans and hospital networks will bid on contracts to serve certain regions. The federal government must approve the plan.^[37] The governor said that the plan can save approximately $4 billion over the next two years.^[36]

Medicaid has grown to 30.7 percent of the budget in the current spending plan from 22.2 percent of the budget in 2008. The federal government matches every state dollar spent on Medicaid with several federal dollars, which varies by program. That federal money is restricted to health care and could not be spent elsewhere. Much of the Medicaid growth is due to the federal stimulus and Florida’s 2009 $1-per-pack cigarette tax increase. Florida is also limited by federal law from cutting Medicaid eligibility or services. ^[38]

Two-thirds of the $24 billion that go to Florida's state budget is spent on Medicaid.^[26]

The state's 32 Healthy Start coalitions saw their collective budgets reduced by $5.4 million for the fiscal year that began July 1, about a 23 percent reduction from the previous year's total of $23.6 million. Statewide, more than 14,000 women and children are expected to lose free access to a litany of Healthy Start services, such as prenatal care, mental health and substance abuse counseling and parenting education. ^[39]

Jails

The Polk County Sheriff plans to sell boxers and briefs to inmates of the Polk County jail for a small fee. “We’re not going to let them pick the colors. We’ll give them any color they want as long as it’s white,” he joked. Judd said cutting the underwear will save around $45,000 a year, enough to save a job at the jail. ^[40]

The budget provides that the state will hire private vendors to run the prisons by Jan. 1, 2012. On July 18, 2011, the Florida Police Benevolent Association filed suit against Corrections Secretary Edwin Buss to block a plan to privatize 30 prisons in Miami-Dade, Broward and 16 other counties. Those prisons currently house about 20 percent of Florida's inmate population, which is approximately 102,000.^[41] In September 2011, Circuit Judge Jackie Fulford ruled that the plan to privatize nearly 30 prison facilities in South Florida violated the Florida Constitution because legislators included the provision in the state budget instead of passing it as a stand-alone law. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in October 2011 that the state would appeal the decision.^[42]

The privatization proposal was $25 million over-budget because the Department of Corrections would have to pay comp time, vacation and sick leave to some 4,000 workers in those facilities that would lose their jobs, according to internal email between Department of Corrections officials that suggests lawmakers were warned the privatization push would come at a cost. ^[43]

Department of Environmental Protection

Gov. Rick Scott applauded the news that the state Department of Environmental Protection would look to cut its budget by $700 million, mostly through arrangements with the five water management districts across the state. ^[44]

Scott praised the Water districts for submitting tentative budgets that slash spending by more than $700 million, but stated the cuts in most cases were not enough. Scott called for additional cuts of $2.4 million including deferred compensation payments. He also asked for reductions in salaries and benefits, including limiting executive director salaries to $165,000, general counsel salaries to $160,000 and 5 percent reductions in the salary of any district manager making more than $100,000. ^[45]

Federal Funds

Under Gov. Scott, the state has rejected more than $105 million in federal funds for programs linked to federal health care initiatives. It has returned more than $4 million dollars to the federal government as well.^[46]

Federal spending dropped 10 percent in the FY2012 state budget from the FY2011 budget, but the federal government remains the single largest source of money despite efforts from Gov. Rick Scott to reduce the state's reliance on Congress. In the FY2012 budget, $24 billion comes from the federal government, and two-thirds of that goes toward Medicaid.^[26]

On Sept. 7, 2011, the Legislative Budget Commission approved a $31.5 million federal grant over five years for a home visitation program for at-risk families that would help curb child abuse and work with pregnant women. ^[46]

Mosquito Abatement

The state slashed its contribution to local mosquito control by half. With a line-item veto, Gov. Rick Scott closed a university mosquito lab that mosquito abatement officers relied on for pesticide research. Effective management of mosquitoes has been closely linked to the state's prosperity. ^[47]

Government layoffs

In the wake of large-scale budget cuts, the South Florida Water Management District laid off 134 employees in the past week, according to the Palm Beach Post. The 134 workers laid off from the South Florida Water Management District in the last week will save the district $9 million in salaries but cost more than 1,785 years of experience and institutional knowledge. ^[48]

[edit] Credit Outlook

Florida's credit outlook was revised to stable from negative because its new budget begins to fix a longstanding gap between what it spends and what it collects, according to a new Standard & Poor's report. For now, Florida will continue to hold a AAA rating. S&P saluted Florida for working to rebuild its financial reserves, cushions which were depleted during the recession. ^[49] Fitch's said Florida's revenue sources are vulnerable to declines in the rates of population growth, consumption, and activity in the housing market, which continues its severe correction following a historic run-up. It added the state's debt burden is moderate and pensions are well funded. They also said Florida's long-term economic prospects are solid, although current economic performance remains weak. ^[50]

Standard & Poor's listed the state's rating at AAA in July based on "significant cost-cutting measures," and that credit rating seems to be sticking. After closing a budget hole, Florida was able to lower its borrowing costs, which may, in turn, improve the climate for businesses in the Sunshine State. Some credit Gov. Rick Scott and the state Legislature for the state's budget praise. ^[51]

[edit] Proposed Budgets

[edit] Governor's Proposed Budget

Gov. Scott presented his first budget proposal on Feb. 7, 2011 and the state's shortfall was estimated at $3.6 billion.^[52] In his $65.9 billion budget the governor proposed reducing K-12 per-pupil by 10% and also cutting $3 billion from Medicaid over two years.^[53] Overall, Scott proposed cutting state spending by $5 billion.^[54] Because 80 percent of Florida's budget goes toward personnel, Gov. Scott is determined to tackle those expenses though downsizing and employee contributions. ^[55]

Lawmakers from both parties criticized the proposed budget for its lack of detail regarding the proposed cuts.^[53]

Scott's budget included $2.4 billion in proposed tax cuts.^[53] He said that he will cut the state corporate income tax by 45% and plans to reduce property taxes that are now directed to school spending by another $1.4 billion.^[56]

He's also said that state employees should contribute to the state pension system for the first time.^[57]

Other highlights of Scott's proposed budget include:

• Cut number of judicial assistants in Circuit Courts by half
• A $703 million cut in school funding
• Eliminate $82 million at the Department of Corrections, which translates into 1,690 positions
• In addition to the positions in the Department of Corrections, Scott's budget eliminates an additional 7,000 state positions.

Medicaid Reform

Gov. Scott said it is necessary for Florida to reform Medicaid. There are approximately 3 million Medicaid recipients in Florida. He is seeking a federal waiver to transfer Florida's Medicaid recipients into privately run managed-care programs, which he believes will save approximately $4 billion over the next two years.^[36]

Florida's Medicaid program, which provides health care to low-income individuals and families, cost $20.2 billion for fiscal year 2010-11. Costs are shared equally between state and federal government. However, Medicaid costs in Florida are expected to climb to $25.08 billion by 2013-14. ^[58] It is unlikely the federal government will approve the plan until June, which is one month after the Florida budget is expected to pass.^[36]

Some key provisions of the governor's Medicaid reform plan include:^[59]

• Create new patient co-pays for Medicaid recipients. Patients would be responsible for $100 co-pays for non-emergency care in hospital emergency departments (compared with $15 now)
• It would create a $3 co-payment for visits to specialty physicians
• Smokers and drug and alcohol dependent beneficiaries would have to consent to medically directed rehabilitation programs
• The morbidly obese would be required to undergo a medically-directed weight-loss program
• The reform plan would establish 19 Medicaid regions, where the state would contract up to 10 different insurance providers. Recipients could then choose a provider in their region
• The reform would restrict eligibility to U.S. residents and non-residents in the country legally. Exceptions for emergency medical care and care of pregnant women would be made

Scott's plan is an expansion of a pilot program created by former Gov. Jeb Bush in 2006. That program affected five counties -- Broward, Duval, Baker, Clay and Nassau. Critics worry for-profit providers are scrimping on patient care and denying medical services to increase profits. Business Week reported that five years into the pilot program there's little data showing whether savings stem from providers offering less care or because they're delivering it more efficiently. ^[60]

Budget Criticisms

With Scott's new budget, more than 2,000 state employees will be forced into the unemployment line as the governor's plan eliminates 4,500 jobs, about half of which are filled. There will be significant layoffs for workers in state mental health hospitals, juvenile justice facilities and state prisons. In some cases those cuts could negatively impact rural communities where the state is a major employer. With an 8 percent cut in education funding, the new budget will result in the additional loss of thousands of jobs in schools around the state. ^[61]

Scott's critics say the plan is ill suited for a time when there are nearly 1 million Floridians without employment. Scott said his plan eliminates unnecessary government and will help create more private sector jobs. ^[62]

Union Protests

The governor's proposed budget slashes $3.3 billion from education and $340 million from state colleges and universities. Scott's proposals do not go as far as those of Gov. Scott Walker in Wisconsin who is seeking to end collective bargaining on benefits for public unions. Unlike the Midwestern state, organized labor has a small presence in the private sector of Florida's economy.

Even prior to the release of Gov. Scott's budget public employee unions were scheduling protests to his proposed cuts, including public employees to contribute 5 percent of their paychecks and enrolling all new public employees n 401(k)-like plans. ^[63] A union leader told PNJ.com that requiring a 5 percent contribution to the pension plan is nothing more than a 5 percent pay cut. ^[64]

The Florida Senate passed Bill 736, which would eliminate tenure for teachers hired after 2014. It would tie 50 percent of a teacher's pay to the performance of that teacher's students on standardized tests. Gov. Rick Scott has promised to sign the bill. This is legislation that many Miami-area teachers are already threatening to protest. ^[65]

Protests by various teacher organizations are planned for the March 8, the day the 2011 legislative session opens.

The Florida Community Action Network is planning a series of "Awake the State" rallies across the state on March 8. The rallies will protest budget cuts in all areas, not just education. ^[66]

Collective bargaining rights for public employees are protected in Florida's constitution, although legislators have proposed measures that would restrict union activities.^[67]

Counter Protests

Florida Tea Party organizations are planning to rally at the capital on March 8, the day the new legislative session opens, in support of Gov. Scott's budget proposals. The number of Tea Party groups planning rallies in support of Gov. Scott has grown from 8 to 17.

Consumer Confidence

University of Florida researchers say Floridians outlook has been shaken due to the state budget. In a June 1, 2011 report UF's Bureau of Economic and Business Research's consumer confidence rating dipped to 68, the worst since September 2010. Perceptions on personal finances compared to a year ago dropped 4 points to an anemic 52. Because political organizations seized on the cuts in the new budget signed by Gov. Scott, the downbeat mantra has resonated in the media echo chamber and stuck in the public's mind. ^[68]

When it comes to deciding whether now is a good time to make large purchases, such as appliances or a car, Florida’s index component dropped a point to 74, while perceptions on Floridian’s personal finances compared to a year ago also dropped four points to 52. Although April brought some positive signs of recovery, the report said the economic environment is still mixed. Unemployment dropped to 10.8 percent — the lowest in Florida since 2009 — but the rate is still one of the highest in the country. Median housing prices rose to $132,700, but the report said prices could decline as a backlog of foreclosures moves through the courts. Gas prices have declined the past two weeks, but should rise again with the summer travel season approaching. Nationally, the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index fell unexpectedly from 66 to 61 in May. Analysts attributed the drop to high gas prices and general unease with both the job market and housing prices. ^[69]

UF's monthly consumer-confidence survey, which is timed to coincide with the Conference Board index, conducts 500 telephone interviews of Florida households via random digit dialing. Reported results are proportionate by county population, though not by party affiliation. ^[70]

[edit] Legislative Budgets

On May 1, 2011, legislators agreed to save more than $200 million with budget caps for the state's water management districts and also a prison-privatization plan.^[71] Overall, the legislative budget cut nearly $4 billion from schools, employee benefits, health care and environmental programs but also included $70 million in tax incentives for the new "Department of Economic Opportunity" and $25 million for a three-day sales-tax holiday for back-to-school supplies in August.^[72]

Neither the House nor the Senate budgets leave much room for tax cuts or fee reductions. In contrast, Gov. Scott had asked for a $2.4 billion in revenue reductions, including a reduction in property taxes.^[73]

After two weeks of no movement, the House and Senate broke their deadlock with a deal that leaders said would balance the budget without raising taxes or fees. It includes $22.7 billion general revenue and also accounts for spending in areas such as public schools and health and human services while cutting approximately $4 billion in spending.^[74]

Unlike the House, the Senate seeks to take over operations of expressway authorities. Also, the Senate pulls state water management districts into its budget. Those contribute to the two Senate budget of $69.8 billion, which is $3.2 billion larger than the House plan. The Senate cuts slightly fewer salaried positions, about 5,000. Another difference is that the House raids single-purpose trust fund accounts by $704 million, including $300 million from the category used for building and repairing roads and bridges.^[73] The differences in two chambers’ budget plans must be reconciled by May 6 when the session ends. They were negotiating until talks broke down over the costs of higher-education cuts and new requirements over public-employee pensions.^[75]

Pensions

The House budget plan includes a 3 percent flat contribution rate from state employees to their pensions. The Senate budget takes a tiered approach to pension contributions, with a 2% for salaries under $25,000, a 4% for salaries between $25,000 to $50,000, and a 6% rate for those who earn more than $50,000. Both plans fall short of the governor's proposed 5% flat contribution rate for all 655,000 members of the Florida Retirement System. ^[76]

[edit] Budget Transparency

See also: Evaluation of Florida state website or Constitutional provisions regarding reading of bills or find sample transparency legislation at the Sunshine Standard

Certain public agencies have failed to comply with open records laws.^[77]

Florida currently has some level of transparency, including "Transparency Florida", an online spending database created by the state's Chief Financial Officer.

Budget review period

Article 3, Section 19(c) of the Florida State Constitution requires that "All general appropriation bills shall be furnished to each member of the legislature, each member of the cabinet, the governor, and the chief justice of the supreme court at least seventy-two hours before final passage by either house of the legislature of the bill in the form that will be presented to the governor."

[edit] Government tools

The following table is helpful in evaluating the level of transparency provided by a state spending and transparency database.

Criteria for evaluating spending databases

State Database	Searchability	Grants	Contracts	Line Item Expenditures	Dept/Agency Budgets	Public Employee Salary
Transparency Florida	Y	N	Y	N	Y	N
Florida Has a Right to Know	Y	N	P	N	N	Y

• Transparency Florida is searchable, and is easy to navigate.^[78]
• Contracts are available through a search.^[79] There is a vendor search, but you must search specific vendors.^[80]
• Department and agency budgets are available.^[81]
• Public employee salaries are not available.

[edit] Limitations and Suggestions

Florida's Checkbook should post employee salaries just as other state transparency sites (such as the Missouri Accountability Portal) do.

[edit] FY2011 State Budget

Find the state’s FY2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) compiled by the state government here.

The Legislature's Office of Economic and Demographic Research and other experts predicted in Sept. 2010 that the state could face a budget deficit for 2011-12 of approximately $2.5 billion.^[82] State economists increased the forecast for general revenue, which comes mostly from sales tax collections, by $260 million, or 1.1%, for the FY2011 in August 2010.^{[citation needed]} Although the shortfall was less than originally anticipated, the issue of how to plug the $2.5 billion shortfall remains, with Republicans advocating reduced state spending and Democrats arguing for the closure of some corporate-tax exemptions and enforcement of stricter Internet sales taxes.^[82]

The Florida State Legislature passed the $70.4 billion FY2011 Florida state budget on April 30, 2010, the deadline for doing so.^[83][15] The FY2011 budget is $4 billion larger than the prior year's state budget.^[84] The Florida State Legislature struggled to plug a revenue shortfall of $3.2 billion.^[15] The House approved the measure by a vote of 77-43, with most Democrats opposed, and Senate approved the budget by a vote of 33-4.^[85]

State officials plan to seek compensation for the expected revenue losses from the British Petroleum oil spill that began in the spring of 2010.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Sources of Funds

The budget does not include a tax increase and does not increase state fees.^[85] Instead, funds come from other sources. The budget is bolstered by $2.6 billion in federal stimulus money^[86], one third of which is allocated to public schools.

The budget transfers a total of $506.9 million in trust fund money into the general revenue pot, with $160 million coming from the state transportation trust fund and $148.4 million from the local government housing trust fund.^[83] Also helping lawmakers offset a $3.2 billion shortfall was $433 million from the Seminole gambling compact and $270 million lawmakers expect from the extension of federal Medicaid spending.^[85] Medicaid spending accounts for one quarter of the FY2011 state budget.^[85]

Federal Funds The state expects to receive $800 million for Medicaid and $555 million for education as a result of the August 2010 federal stimulus. The Legislature had included the Medicaid money in the FY2011 state budget on a contingent basis. Gov. Crist said that the education money would be enough to employ more than 9,100 teachers.^[87]

[edit] State Employees

The budget included no pay cuts or raises for state employees.^[83] State employees' base pay has not increased in five years.^[85] The House had proposed to cut state worker payroll costs by 3 percent but that measure did not succeed.^[88] A proposal requiring public employees to contribute to their pension fund in light of a large deficit also failed.^[85] In addition, state employees who were previously exempt from paying health insurance premiums under the new budget will pay $100 a year for individual coverage and $360 a year for family coverage.^[86] State employee copayments will also rise.^[86]

[edit] Education

Universities The University of Florida received a 5.4% increase over last year in the FY2011 state budget for an $889.8 million budget.^[89] The budget also increases tuition at state universities by 8% and also permits schools to raise tuition an additional 7%, amounting to 15 percent tuition increase. One-third of the optional increase must be directed to help with need-based aid.^[86] Bright Futures scholarships were cut by $1 per credit hour.^[84]

K-12 Education Average per pupil spending was also increased by $1.22.^[83] Overall, the FY2011 budget increases total state school funding by $849 million^[83], with the total state budget for K-12 totaling $18.1 billion.^[84]

[edit] Health Care

Medicaid program alone absorbs nearly one-third of the $70.4 billion budget.^[90]

Medicaid services were not cut, but legislators reduced Medicaid reimbursement rates to nursing homes and hospitals by 7%.^[84] Healthy Families, a state program provides in-home counseling to struggling and at-risk parents, will be cut by about $10 million, although a last-hour $2 million infusion prevented an even larger reduction.^[84]

[edit] Reserves

The budget leaves $1.4 billion in reserves, with the Lawton Chiles Endowment, a fund used to pay for children's health programs, accounting for $600 million of those reserves.^[84] If additional federal funding to the states for Medicaid comes through, expected to be $600 million to $800 million, Florida lawmakers would funnel most of it to the reserves.^[84]

[edit] Budget Background

"The budget development process has three major phases: agency requests, Governor’s recommendations and legislative adoption. Following instructions issued jointly by the Governor’s Office and the Legislature in July, state agencies begin developing long-range program plans and budget requests which lay out the programs and funding needs of each agency for the next fiscal year. By mid-October, these requests are submitted to the Governor for consideration in the recommended budget. The Legislature convenes in its regular session beginning in March. The budget passed by the Legislature is valid for one year, beginning each July 1, and ending on June 30."^[91]

Florida does not have a personal income tax.^[92] See Florida state budget (2008-2009) for more information.

[edit] Budget Figures

Fiscal 2010 Tax Collections Compared With Projections Used in Adopting Fiscal 2010 Budgets (Millions)^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Accounting Principles

Main article: Florida government accounting principles

David W. Martin is Florida's Auditor General. the Auditor General is a constitutional officer appointed by the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee. His appointment is confirmed by both houses of the Legislature. The department's audit reports are available online.^[93]

[edit] Stimulus

Florida has received $6.4 billion in federal funding.^[95] The state received $1.3 billion from the federal government under H.R. 1586, a $26 billion plan to give states money for Medicaid and education that the President signed into law on August 10, 2010.^[96]

[edit] Public Employees

Main article: Florida public employee salaries

Main article: Florida public pensions

According to 2008 Census data, the state of Florida and local governments in the state employed a total of 1,049,028 people.^[97] Of those employees, 832,252 were full-time employees receiving a net pay of $3,302,955,436 per month and 216,776 were part-time employees paid $213,151,877 per month.^[97] More than 51% of those employees, or 539,321 employees, were in education or higher education.^[97]

[edit] See also

• Florida taxpayer-funded lobbying
• Florida public pensions
• Florida state government salary

[edit] External links

[edit] Additional reading

• Capitol News Service,"Budget Freefall," April 20, 2009

[edit] References

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