The Florida Senate prepared a $69.8 billion budget for the 2011-2012 fiscal year for a floor vote Wednesday, coming in $3.3 billion ahead of the House budget, but including cuts to education, health care and state worker pensions.
The Senate budget is $700 million less than the current budget, but $4 billion over the budget recommended by Gov. Rick Scott. It incorporates several of Scotts suggestions for consolidating state agencies, but senators also added amendments Wednesday that change Scotts preferences for agencies under his own office.
Before beginning the first day of debate on the budget, Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, rallied his troops, but added a warning for senators who want to add funding for a particular program. The Legislature is facing a $3.8 billion deficit, and Republican leaders, including Haridopolos, have pledged to fill it through spending cuts, not tax increases.
I just want everyone to recognize that this is go time. If you choose to spend money we do not have, you must offer up that tax increase so that we can vote on it, Haridopolos said.
Public education funding is cut by more than $420 per student in the Senate budget, but PreK-12 Education Appropriations Committee Chairman Sen. David Simmons, R-Maitland, argued that most of the cut is due to the federal stimulus funding drying up, and that state spending on education would remain the same.
We basically have a level funding for PreK through 12, Simmons said.
Cuts to pensions for education workers, who make up nearly half of the 655,000 members of the state retirement system would mean $678 million savings, but Simmons said those cuts would not fall on the classroom.
That $678 million figure, however, was based on a 3 percent contribution rate from Florida Retirement System members to their own pensions. Senators changed that approach, which is included in the House budget, as they added amendments that switch to a tiered contribution rate system.
Under the Senates current budget incarnation, state workers would contribute 2 percent of their salary up to $25,000, 4 percent up to $50,000 and 6 percent on earnings over $50,000.
Other added amendments allow state workers to use up to 300 hours of overtime in determining their pension benefits, but sick leave, vacation time and other considerations are not included in the determination. The phase-out of the Deferred Retirement Option Program, called for by Gov. Scott in his budget proposal, was pushed back five years, meaning employees hired after July 1, 2016 are not eligible for the program.
Senators lauded the changes, and said they were more in line with a bill worked on in the Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee chaired by Sen. Jeremy Ring, D-Margate.
The tiered rate is the main thing we were trying to get on the bill. When you look at the total picture of what weve accomplished here today in changing this bill, changing the DROP for five years, the 300 hours of overtime -- its a good package and this is one of the good pieces we need to make this package work, said Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater.
Florida's Medicaid program, which is funded at $20 billion this year, taking up nearly 30 percent of the state budget, is in line for an overhaul in separate legislation tracking through the Senate. It also received $1 billion in cuts Wednesday.
The majority of the cuts came in the form of slashing the Medically Needy program, which provides medical services for those who would not otherwise qualify for Medicaid, but whose medical condition causes financial strain. Patients in the program who currently receive benefits like eyeglasses and hearing aids would only receive funds for simple physician care.
Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, said he would like to see the program funded if funds could be found, but noted that the program is funded through April 2012, and that patients in the program could find help through similar private-sector or federal programs.
Im going to do my best to prioritize that first if funds become available, Negron said.
Part of the difference between the House and Senate budget stems from the funding for the clerks of court and the water management districts, which are not included in the House budget but are taken into the Senate version.
The Senate also secured greater legislative oversight for the water management districts, requiring approval by the Legislature for the millage rates of the five districts in the state, as well as reducing the current property taxes levied by the water management districts by $210.5 million.
Senators granted Gov. Scotts request for a jobs czar, creating a Jobs Florida agency that would absorb many of the functions of the Department of Community Affairs and the Agency for Workforce Innovation, and move emergency management operations directly under the governors office.
One item on Gov. Scotts wish list not granted by the Senate was a plan to move the Childrens Cabinet, tasked with collaborating with all the state agencies that affect children in Florida, to the Department of Children and Families. The move got a blunt review from Sen. Ronda Storms, R-Valrico.
Its bad public policy, Storms said. After further protests from Sen. Nan Rich, D-Weston, who sponsored the 2007 bill creating the Childrens Cabinet, the measure was postponed.
The Senate is expected to vote on the full budget Thursday.
Reach Gray Rohrer at grohrer@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
