Business groups say the Legislature's latest raid on the state Transportation Trust Fund will put a screeching halt to new road projects and throw 11,000 workers off the job.
To help balance the budget, lawmakers pulled $160 million from the Florida Department of Transportation's trust fund. But contractors say that's just a down payment on a bigger problem down the road.
"That equals $450 million in projects," said Bill Burleson of the Florida Transportation Builders Association. "There's a lot at stake here."
Because of a multiplier effect, Burleson said pulling $160 million off line in one year effectively halts allocations for projects that are funded in five-year time frames.
As a result, he said FDOT will be consigned to road repairs, instead of actual road building and congestion relief.
"We might as well rename the Florida Department of Transportation the Florida Department of Maintenance," Burleson said.
Mark Wilson, president and CEO of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, called the Legislature's raid another in a series of fiscal assaults on the state's infrastructure.
"For the last few years, the Legislature has balanced the budget by taking money from the State Transportation Trust Fund and putting it into the general fund. It's a shortsighted solution with dire consequences," Wilson said in a statement.
"The trust fund is made up of state fuel taxes, motor vehicle fees, tolls and federal grants, and was designed to fund critical road-building projects. And this year is no different."
In 2009, the Legislature took $120 million from the Transportation Trust Fund.
"We cannot let this happen again," Wilson said.
But while contractor and trade groups want Gov. Charlie Crist to veto the raid, rejection could come at a cost.
Lawmakers inserted something of a poison pill in their budget bill, directing that a return of the $160 million would be made up with funds pulled from the education budget.
"We're not trying to take money from education," said Burleson, who believes that the state budget has room to spare.
"The budget as presented has a $400 million surplus," he said, adding that the Senate's spending plan did not take a dime from the trust fund. The House, however, wanted to pull out $466 million, and the $160 million figure was the resulting compromise.
But construction groups say that compromise means jobs at a time when the state can least afford it.
Charles Roberts, president of C.W. Roberts Contracting of Tallahassee, says siphoning money from the transportation fund may be pennywise but pound foolish.
"It will ultimately cause additional strain on Florida's weakened economy as displaced transportation infrastructure workers will be forced to seek unemployment compensation and Medicaid costs will skyrocket," he said in a statement.
Kevin Thibault, FDOT's assistant secretary for engineering and operations, said the trust fund shuffle means his agency will have to reconvene with local governments to determine which road projects will be deferred.
Meantime, Thibault said lawmakers directed FDOT to double its annual transfer to the state Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development for that agency's specially earmarked projects.
"Instead of $10 million, now we're looking at (giving up) more like $20.3 million," he said.
SENATE BILL 1964 IS A LIABILITY
Construction trade organizations also are objecting strenuously to Senate Bill 1964, which would limit the liability of certain professionals.
The bill, which has yet to reach Crist's desk, protects engineers, surveyors and mappers, architects, interior designers and registered landscape architects in cases of construction defects.
Proponents, including SB 1964's sponsor, state Sen. Joe Negron, R-Palm City, say the legislation is necessary to shield personal assets from lawsuits that attempt to go around contracts.
Opponents, ranging from the Associated Builders and Contractors to homeowner associations, see no reason to change liability laws and award special exemptions to specific classes of professionals.
In part, the bill states:
"A claimant contracting for the professional services of a design professional does not have a cause of action in tort against the design professional for the recovery of economic damages resulting from a construction defect."
Jim Rudd of the Florida Engineering Society says that economic damages can still be recovered in cases of personal injury.
But critics, calling on Crist to veto the measure, say SB 1964 leaves negligence unpunished.
"Can you imagine a law that said lawyers could not be sued for damages caused by legal malpractice? Nobody gets that kind of protection -- not accountants, or doctors or graphic designers," said a homeowner association spokesman who declined to be identified.
Contact Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 801-5341.
