[Nfbf-l] Fwd: Budget Cuts have just begun!
REPCODDS at aol.com
REPCODDS at aol.com
Mon Nov 24 22:46:41 UTC 2008
____________________________________
From: BlindguysRus1
To: REPCODDS
Sent: 11/24/2008 2:04:05 P.M. Eastern Standard Time
Subj: Budget Cuts have just begun!
Budget looks dismal for coming year!
ASSOCIATED PRESS
_Budget deficit expected to hit $2B_
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001j25viyl7l76JdOFRDZOsgQoKrgv-QuOQV2u5PhWrKFWHu4IN1qTWoJMfXuZcIr7Ri8BTYllI_fXOFaqj2SIxStYRbX
L-2zU2Qj-kviCfVONogEtCDMvRF4C5QhY6wWmihDeH3FXZVtsk5zaDSMWowQ==)
TALLAHASSEE - Florida's current-year budget deficit expanded to $2.14
billion Friday as state economists again ratcheted down their general revenue
estimate because of a trio of economic shocks since their last forecast in August.
The financial pain will get even worse next year. The economists predicted a
"budget gap" for the fiscal year beginning July 1 that could range from
about $4 billion to more than $6 billion. That's the difference between expected
general revenue - mostly sales and corporate income taxes - and must-do
spending on the low side or business nearly as usual on the high end.
DAYTONA BEACH NEWS JOURNAL
_Beleaguered state budget to go from bad to worse_
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001j25viyl7l766-5qHKS37z6s_OaRkyx5elfldwgFRXzMnZ9jinFFoFFpN9p-jUkO5Lmy_ChPoUySL
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8Heqv-50gibHGMAjOo4UDteVx5mfa_SiE2wdoJ)
TALLAHASSEE -- With Florida's economy continuing to sink, state lawmakers
face a $2.1 billion budget shortfall this year -- and the problems will get
worse next year. State economists released estimates Friday that showed tax
collections falling as consumers and businesses deal with job losses, tight
credit and plunging investments. "We expect that this quarter (of the year) and
the next quarter are going to be the worst," said Amy Baker, coordinator of
the Legislature's Office of Economic and Demographic Research.
SOUTH FLORIDA SUN-SENTINEL / ORLANDO SENTINEL
_Florida's budget facing $2.1 billion deficit_
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001j25viyl7l77nQYhh5QZIN4oHGdsA643T3wSMJYNnGqRLARwA1_IPTp58fmZnlBJQq_FM_O6FKEDYobz0
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qlRcle1pSgx70KMdSS42yD-6zqX2n5uIxyeA9plyLqNQf9PJsjyZGY3w==)
TALLAHASSEE - State economists agreed Friday that Florida's state agencies,
courts and classrooms will fall about $2.1 billion into the red this year.
The reason: plummeting revenues caused by the global recession, the credit
crunch and the collapse of investment and retirement accounts in recent months.
The revised revenue projections will force Gov. Charlie Crist and the
Legislature to apply some combination of reserves and spending cuts to balance the
budget for the year ending June 30.
MIAMI HERALD
_State deficit grows; will taxes have to rise?_
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001j25viyl7l76qaVLlimWfZ8lWWjM8mHn_1_ejgaVfVo54OIjlTa3jKvumsJXGE4x8_hK8PIt4M2YGMUH
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XIcWKQ6hb59wPw=)
State economists punched a $2.1 billion hole in the state budget Friday,
precipitating the need for a special lawmaking session and talk of possible tax
increases.
TALLAHASSEE -- The state's barebones budget now has a $2.1 billion hole,
state economists said in a Friday forecast that all but guarantees Gov. Charlie
Crist will call a special legislative session to manage the deficit and
consider what was once a non-starter: tax increases. Due to the tight credit
market, moribund housing industry and global financial crisis, economists
projected the state will take in $1.39 billion less in tax collections than they had
anticipated in August. Before Friday, the state already had a deficit of
nearly $800 million.
PALM BEACH POST
_Rising budget gap may force early legislative session_
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001j25viyl7l76gyhkMVcZDfUM3IfvwDhZSlRbIvRfq4xno8LAO3DSoBO5jgdlJVUnkQBfus1E
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NTbJG1TlQ04feWKsoPdop9_x300LVCGhOAT2cOfU20XHyWtKyVe2EHlAmAW42J6YQ==)
TALLAHASSEE - Pressure to call a special legislative session to deal with
Florida budget woes mounted Friday when state economists warned that revenue is
drying up. The state may run out of money to operate even before legislators
begin their regular session in March, almost guaranteeing the need for a
special session to make more cuts in courts, prisons and health care for the
poor. Revenue estimators said Florida's budget hole grew by $1.4 billion, a 6
percent decline in projected revenues from what was predicted just three
months ago.
FLORIDA CAPITOL NEWS
(Florida Today, Fort Myers News Press, Pensacola News Journal, Tallahassee
Democrat)
_State budget deficit deepens to $2.3 billion_
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001j25viyl7l77a5qptyxDDGrGkzmFEz4L8l-2WNFvUx6OYF5dERqHnJnmTZg9Q0Z3ihyHoOSRL79PcSjz0
1uv8hIIQ7bFfOKoQgn6-r5a187IJMXZqX_u8RtwEagci8Maxp9aafVHtr8B2XyR552scUNaOG-h4qv
JJ)
Lawmakers mull special session to work out funding
TALLAHASSEE - The economic crisis is taking an even bigger toll on the state
budget than officials previously thought. Economists estimated Friday that
Florida tax revenues are a further $1.4 billion below a previous dire
prediction of decline in August. The deficit for the current fiscal year now stands
at an estimated $2.3 billion. After two years of budget trimming, lawmakers
face the prospect of further cuts to the current spending plan. More
reductions for education, health care, courts and prisons are coming.
ST. PETERSBURG TIMES
_State budget gap hits $2.14-billion _
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001j25viyl7l75XWIyMx1KK98WY79Sz0K3jxEzatiiHEg-ftpq9ubRQefGsHp_PUZEmw2pKypq5FC02oiH9CyAMY9mY
MiRym4ErceoNxDSvNrfy8C2_uaCz0u2nd6XaIpNmn2etSYvSZPMJyDRWcFJkWw==)
TALLAHASSEE - Florida lawmakers got a billion more reasons Friday to call a
special session on the state's unstable finances. Budget forecasters
determined there will be $1.4-billion less tax and other revenue this fiscal year,
widening an already dangerous budget hole to $2.14-billion. Having already
slashed and re-slashed the state's $66-billion budget, Gov. Charlie Crist and
legislators face a narrowing set of options: They can borrow money from
fast-dwindling reserve funds, raid single-purpose accounts known as trust funds or
lock in existing 4 percent holdbacks on all state agencies.
GANNETT NEWS TV
_More than a billion bucks short!_
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001j25viyl7l76ZBFm8_ZL9UZd539pnx6WYvul9CkaIG4EkelPsN_AyKmMk5NaUBZGaZsQyO4gsQ7eoIVfL9-K0XogBrPvt
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V0Vg2rfmTKnf-52xmm2lDr)
Tallahassee, Florida -- The state's financial situation is even worse than
economists predicted just two months ago. State economists combed through the
latest revenue estimates and they came up with somewhere between $1.1 and
$1.5 billion short of the roughly $66 billion state budget. They blamed a
number of factors for causing the continued shortfall and they combed through
revenue returns from housing and auto sales to insurance, tobacco and tourism.
BAY NEWS 9 / CENTRAL FLORIDA 13
_State dealing with crippling budget crisis (I-poll)_
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001j25viyl7l77YVWTiC7sBG0mW_BpbuYkDAGwNImhRsrXR12X6AduD_mdvbwDM9An9SCH6fBl_Q
CelkXRpqbipCsK6jkm_XiToD48lXOdC-lUPHDMccnzBPZ57t177PHc9APu794BW-tb7ySoNLzZVaoH
7TDeQeMaYgo4EqEOs8NU=)
The state is dealing with a crippling budget crisis. People are spending
less and therefore paying fewer sales taxes, which puts less money into the
state's economy. Florida gets 75 percent of its money from the sales tax. In a
span of only a few months, the state's budget deficit has grown by nearly
$1.5 billion and is now at $2.2 billion. Chief Economist Amy Baker addressed
reasons for the deficit.
CAPTIAL NEWS SERVICE TV
(WFLA - Tampa, WTVJ - Miami, WPTV - West Palm Beach, WCJB - Gainesville,
WCTV - Tallahassee, WJHG - Panama City, WEAR - Pensacola)
_State Tax Revenue Estimates _
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001j25viyl7l74cnOZqAYoEQrYxpJrJPKQ2PVtshKN1Be4omutraT40AFv3sGk8L-HV52y7Ha1WMcvgsaEYYcw5dEwYTWkKXCKl
EuTs3FgVjDGgM6-mS5usDIoV7P2CZlzf3o27JsF5-hnvsYnsn9Fpvw==)
The state's financial health just went from bad to worse. Sales tax
collections continue to drop like a rock, leaving the state with a 2.2 billion dollar
budget hole. The budget void will have to be filled; the only question is
how. Floridians are buying fewer cars, hosting fewer tourists, and even smoking
less. The decrease in spending is taking a toll on the state budget. Friday
state economists met to discuss just how deep Florida's budget hole will
get.
Legislature
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
Weekly Roundup - The Peek-A-Boo Legislature
(Recap and analysis of the week in state government)
THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, Nov. 21, 2008.....Never known for childlike
games, except of course when it is, the Florida Legislature did its best third
grade impression this week, playing peek-a-boo in the face of bleak financial
times. The Legislature was back this week, with the House and Senate holding
organizational sessions, and the Capitol sprung back to life. Then they left,
and the Capitol was again quiet as a mouse. Lawmakers got right to work
while they were here.. Not on fixing the ailing state budget, which is more than
$1 billion short, but on electing leaders, even though the decisions on who
they would elect were made months ago. By unanimous consent, Rep. Ray Sansom
formally ascended to the top spot in the Florida House of Representatives,
marking the start of his two-year term as speaker. The beginning of the Destin
Republican's tenure was a little rocky. Accepting the nomination of the House
Republican Caucus Monday, he seemed acutely aware of the coming economic
storm, saying "we don't really know what next year holds." Neither do we, Mr.
Speaker. That's what we are afraid of. Sansom also drew some criticism in
his first week on the job. First, he carted off his Republican colleagues to
one of the state's plushest resort areas for their first working caucus
meeting. While bureaucrats at the Department of Children and Families may have been
worried whether they'll be able to adequately protect the state's at-risk
children, Republican lawmakers were at WaterColor, maybe pondering whether it
was too cold for a round of golf between discussions of the budget shortfall.
Sansom also got a little criticism over his other new job. The same day he
became speaker, he was hired as a vice president at Northwest Florida State
College, which gets some of its money, of course, from the Legislature. Sansom
won't be paid from state dollars, but from another account, but there were a
few quizzical looks by the ethics-conscious nonetheless. But all that is
overshadowed by the fact that the current legislative leadership takes over in a
bleak time. Luckily for Sansom, he will not be alone in tackling the coming
financial burden, because he was not alone in dropping the word "designate"
from his title this week.. Palm Beach Gardens Republican Jeff Atwater became
the 83rd President of the Florida Senate on Tuesday after being sworn in by
Florida Supreme Court Justice Peggy Quince. Like Sansom, Atwater
appropriately acknowledged the oncoming truck that is barreling full-speed ahead toward
the state's budget. "It won't take a rocket scientist to read the tea
leaves," Atwater told reporters after the swearing-in ceremony, predicting that a
special session might be necessary to deal with the budget shortfall. The
Democrats may be in the minority, but they will have to deal with the crumbling
economy too. Leading them in the task will be Rep. Franklin Sands,
D-Weston, who was formally elected for the minority leader position in the 84th
session this week. The 68-year-old Sands' Senate counterpart will be Sen. Al
Lawson, D-Tallahassee, who was formally elected as the leader of the chamber's
Democratic caucus Monday. Lawson, 60, has served in the Senate since 2000 and
served nearly 20 years in the House before that. Lawson takes over for Sen.
Steve Geller, D-Hallandale Beach, as Senate Minority Leader for the next two
years. The Senate Democrats also named Sen. Charlie Justice, D-St. Petersburg,
to the largely ceremonial job of Democratic leader pro tempore. Justice was
nominated for the post by Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, who hailed him as
"what the Democrats need at this time. "We need an alpha male who's tough,
who can stand up to the competition," Aronberg said. If Justice is in fact an
alpha male, now would be a good time for him to show it. While everyone
else in the state has been talking about possible budget cuts, Lawson, in his
first public remarks as minority leader, called on Democrats to fight them.
Some of them, anyway. Lawson said he understood the need for fiscal restraint,
but the state still has to protect its most vulnerable residents. "Children
and seniors remain our weakest links," Lawson said. "We must continue to
pledge our assistance to those most unable to fend for themselves. Florida must
avoid becoming a 21st century incarnation of (Charles) Dickens' 19th Century
London." With the economic forecast as bleak as it is been in years, Lawson
and other lawmakers can be forgiven if they feel like they are surrounded by a
London fog. The biggest substantive story of the week was unfolding on
Friday. Just how deep of a budget hole the state is in was being determined by a
room full of economists. Normally a bit dull, this revenue estimating
conference had nearly everyone involved in state policy on the edge of their seat.
What economists see in their Friday forecast is what will determine Florida's
next step.
PLAYING BY THE RULES WHILE THEY'RE MAKING THEM: As much as politicians like
electing themselves, that's not all they did this week. The House and Senate
also adopted new rules for the coming session. Among the changes to the
House rules are more notice time for some meetings and an end to the whole idea
of traveling amendments. Amendments that travel along with bills have been
notoriously hard to track, even for members, and that process will end under the
new rules, with committees expected to only move committee substitutes
forward when a bill is amended. Another process that will change under the new
House rules is eliminating the ability of a council - the House's oversight
committees - to refer bills to new committees even when they've stalled in
another committee. "That's fairness to the people who work out in the rotunda,"
said Rep. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton. While the House was dealing with
committees, it also got rid of the House Budget and Policy Council, a powerful
uber-committee that dictated much of what happened in the chamber last year. The
new rules adopted by the House split the Budget and Policy Council in three,
creating a Policy Council and two separate appropriations councils that will
oversee budget committees. One of those will oversee the education and
economic development budget committees. The other will oversee the budgets dealing
with health care and general government. Rep. Ron Saunders, D-Key West and a
former budget chairman, said he agreed with Sansom's decision to split the
committees in a year in which writing the budget might be the toughest job in
years. "The budget people need to focus on the budget," said Saunders.
"We're in a crisis."
LAYING DOWN THE LAWS: There were a few proposed laws this week, too. For
now, the House and Senate won't reconvene until March, unless they come back in
December for a special session, but they've already begun filing the bills
they'll debate when they get here next year. The first one out of the shoot
wasn't new, but something lawmakers have seen for several years. Rep. Rich
Glorioso, R-Plant City, garnered the coveted number HB 1, when he filed a bill
that would allow police to pull over adult drivers for not wearing their seat
belts. Currently, police can only ticket adult drivers for not being buckled
in if they pull them over for something else and happen to notice they're not
belted in. If that proposal sounds familiar, it's because we've heard it
before. The measure has been filed for years, including during the last two
sessions, by Glorioso. Before that, former Rep. Irv Slosberg pushed it for
several years. The idea has been opposed by a coalition of rural, conservative
lawmakers who don't like government telling them what they must do to keep
themselves safe, and black and Hispanic lawmakers who fear anything that gives
police another reason to pull drivers over. The black caucus for several years
opposed the bill because of concerns over racial profiling by police, and
its leader, at least, will oppose it this year. "The problem I have is still
racial profiling, and that has not changed," caucus chairman Joe Gibbons,
D-Hallandale Beach, said. "Until they find a way to mitigate that, I can't
support that bill. Why give somebody a reason ... to pull me over?" Other measures
already on tap for the 2009 session include a proposal to increase the sales
tax on cigarettes. Saying the state is unfairly footing the bill for
tobacco-related illnesses, Rep. James Waldman, D-Coconut Creek, filed a measure (HB
11) to boost the state tax collected on a typical pack of cigarettes by $2.
Backers are hoping the state's budget woes will provide the push for the
Republican-led Legislature to consider the measure, which would raise about $2.2
billion a year. But in a Legislature controlled 2-to-1 by the GOP, any new
tax is probably going to go over as well as Nancy Pelosi would at a Republican
fundraiser. In other words, smokers can probably breathe easy. At least
financially, anyway. A tax break probably does not do much for emphysema,
unfortunately. The rough economy and smoking-related illnesses were tied in another
way this week. Cabinet members were told that the value of the Lawton Chiles
Endowment - the state's tobacco settlement fund - dropped from $2.1 billion
in June to $1.1 billion, sucked into the recent market tailspin. That's a
significant drop for a state whose revenue streams have all stopped flowing at
the same time. If the dwindling tobacco settlement fund, which was
originally intended to be a reparation for state health care spending on smokers, made
economic types jittery, imagine how it made smoking prevention advocates
feel. But they probably weren't happy this week anyway. Florida was one of the
first states to reach a settlement with tobacco companies to recover health
care costs associated with smoking, but now that all 50 states have such
agreements in place, Florida is in the middle of the pack. A study by the Campaign
for Tobacco-Free Kids ranked the amount of settlement money states have
spent on smoking prevention programs and Florida ranked 22nd. The ranking shows
that state is spending 28.5 percent of the nearly $211 million the federal
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended it spend on preventing
smoking. The study came out one day after the state touted its own study that
showed cigarette use among middle and high school students to have declined
since 2000. So by the end of the week, the feel-good cigarette story the state
started with Monday went up in smoke. Sometimes irony writes itself.
LEARNING TO COPE: It's not just the Legislature struggling to get a handle
on the state's new economic reality. The education sector is searching for
answers, too. It's kind of like elementary school, though. There's a problem on
the chalkboard and everyone's raising his or her hands with a possible
answer. But no one is quite sure whether they will get the gold star. All that's
missing is nap time. Well, the money is missing too, but the budget crunch in
Florida would make anyone want to go to sleep. The first hand up this week
belonged to Gov. Charlie Crist. After arguing for two years that tuition
shouldn't go up, Crist bowed to universities' pleas by proposing to allow
individual schools to raise tuition up to 15 percent a year. Crist said the plan was
aimed at getting Florida's universities to the national average. Right now,
Florida university students pay about $3,800 a year on average, and the
national average is conservatively just over $7,000 a year. Under Crist's
proposal, individual university boards of trustees would be able to raise tuition up
to 15 percent a year until they reach the national average for tuition and
fees. University system Board of Governors Chairwoman Sheila McDevitt said she
was "wildly enthusiastic" about the proposal. But just in case, the BOG
wasn't waiting for Crist to solve the budget riddle by himself. The board
proposed allowing universities to apply for an exception to an enrollment cap on
freshman students. The board put a system cap of 38,500 freshmen in place in
July 2007 so that it could better provide a quality education to Florida
students. Board members were divided on whether to completely lift the cap, but
ultimately, they decided to do it. Unlike the economy though, the news for
Florida's education system was not all bad this week. The Florida Department of
Education announced that the state's graduation rate reached its highest point
ever this past year, led in part by a rising number of minority graduates.
The graduation rate for 2007-2008 was 75.4 percent, according to results
released Wednesday by the Department of Education. It's an increase of more than
3 percentage points from the 2007 rate of 72.4 percent. Ten years ago, the
graduation was just more than 60 percent.
STORY OF THE WEEK: Now you see the Legislature, now you don't. And you might
see it again sooner than you think, if the financial alarms (also known as
CFO Alex Sink) don't stop ringing soon. Who could blame them for playing
peek-a-boo though? The financial outlook for Florida is definitely something that
will make you want to cover your eyes!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "We're sitting around the kitchen table writing checks
like crazy and money ain't coming in," Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink,
reflecting on the rising gap between state's revenues and expenditures.
____________________________________
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