State lawmakers convene each year to conduct a legislative session that has one legal requirement -- approve next year's budget.
What that means is the governor, the Senate and the House each get an initial crack at where to spend tax dollars. They then try and work through their differences toward common ground and a final budget plan.
The first big step in that process was completed Tuesday with the release of the House budget plan. The Senate released its budget Monday, while the governor released his budget weeks ago.
Now that all the proposed budgets are public one thing is clear, the state is planning to spend more than last year.
In 2009, Florida had a $66.5 billion budget. The budget proposed by Gov. Charlie Crist stands at $69.2 billion. The Senate budget totals $68.6 billion. The House has the leanest budget at $67.2 billion.
All three budgets promote more education spending. Education cost Floridians $21.3 billion in 2009. Crist would increase funding to $21.5 billion. The House would increase funding to $21.8 billion, and the Senate would spend $22.4 billion. The Senate spends more on higher education, while the House sends more funding to PreK-12.
All three budgets would increase the funding going to the Agency for Healthcare Administration.The agency received $18.2 billion in 2009. The Senate and the House both have $20.7 billion for the agency in 2010 with the governor targeting $20.5 billion for it.
Transportation will be one of the chief sticking points as the House, the Senate and the governor get down to detailed negotiations on the budget.
Florida spent $6.5 billion on transportation in 2009. Crist and the Senate would both increase that figure to $6.9 billion. The House is offering a considerably lower figure, proposing $5.4 billion on transportation.
Funding for the Department of Health (DOH) is also going to be a point of contention. Crist would keep the $2.9 billion the DOH received in 2009, while the Legislature would cut some of the funding. The Senate has $2.4 billion going to the DOH, and the House has $2.3 billion penciled in.
While the Legislature's plan to keep Gov. Crists Florida Forever environmental program without any funds is garnering headlines, there are some considerable differences in funding between the three parties.
Crist would increase spending on the environment, increasing the budget for the Department of Environmental Protection from $1.35 billion in 2009 to $1.4 billion. The House would cut the departments funding down to $1.27 billion, while the Senate would increase the funding to $1.49 billion.
The Department of Children and Families appears to be slated to lose some funds. DCF garnered $3 billion in 2009. Crist and the House would reduce funding down to $2.9 billion. The Senate would lower funding to $2.7 billion.
The Legislature will start the task of negotiating the budget this week. The House Full Appropriations Council on Education and Economic Development plan to hold a meeting for seven hours Tuesday afternoon to start the process.
Kevin Derby, a reporter for Sunshine State News, can be reached at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or (850) 727-0859.
