by John Kennedy
The News Service of Florida
After four hours of harsh, partisan debate, the House approved a $67.2 billion budget plan Thursday which relies on cuts to schools, health programs and human services, a marked contrast to a Senate’s budget, beefed-up by anticipated dollars from Washington and gambling.
Democrats derided the approach of the Republican-ruled House, saying there were no attempts at closing longstanding corporate sales-tax exemptions that could have pulled millions of dollars into the recession-wracked state treasury.
But Republicans defended their approach, calling it realistic for a state facing a $3.2 billion budget shortfall.
The measure cleared on a 74-44 party-line vote, setting the stage for what could prove a month’s worth of negotiations with the Senate, whose $69.4 billion spending plan includes $1.3 billion in additional federal stimulus and Seminole Indian gambling money still awaiting approval in Congress and the Legislature, respectively.
House Republicans said the plan they supported wisely avoided imposing tax- and fee-hikes to a state already burdened by record-high unemployment and foreclosure levels.
“We do have optimism built into this budget,” Rep. Tom Grady (R-Naples) told House members, responding to Democratic criticism. “But it is realistic optimism.”
Democrats said the House budget falls short by cutting public school spending by $52-per-student, eliminating state dollars for the Florida Forever environmental land-buying program and Everglades restoration, and reducing health coverage for 5,800 low-income pregnant women.
While the House maintains such big-ticket items as the state’s Medically Needy program and Medicaid aged and disabled services, cuts are proposed for substance abuse, mental health and developmentally disabled programs. Hospitals, nursing homes and HMOs also would have state payments reduced, a stance also embraced by the Senate.
University tuition in both the House and Senate spending plans could rise by as much as 15 percent, drawing more heat from Democrats.
“It may be a balanced budget, but it has no vision,” said Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda (D-Tallahassee). “This should be about jobs and the economy. Cuts, cuts, cuts can have a very damaging effect on the state.”
The biggest injections of dollars by the House stem from redirecting $788 million from agency trust funds and marking the $600 million Lawton Chiles Endowment Fund, used primarily for children’s health care, as part of a $1.8 billion reserve, a level that matches the Senate.
Both sides are looking to salt-away cash in case the economy continues to erode.
About $2.3 billion in federal stimulus money, the final installment of more than $8 billion that has propped-up state spending for more than two years, also is included in both the House and Senate blueprints.
But overall, the Senate’s spending decisions were eased by that chamber’s use of $880 million in enhanced federal Medicaid assistance, still awaiting approval in Congress.