Gov. Rick Scott, poised to sign the nearly $70 billion budget Thursday, received some suggestions for line-item vetoes earlier in the week when Florida TaxWatch issued its annual list of budget turkeys targeting nearly $203 million in potential savings.
But lawmakers took issue with the list, with Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, quickly sending out a release labeling the list a media gimmick.
In an interview Wednesday, Negron, who serves as vice chair of the Senate Budget Committee, expanded on his view, saying the list ignores the Legislatures constitutional role in setting appropriations and unfairly criticizes budget items that were added in budget conferences or that werent part of a state agencys budget request.
Reasonable people can disagree on a particular budget item, but to use as a rationale to criticize someone that it wasnt asked for by the executive branch just doesnt make sense, Negron said.
TaxWatchs turkey list, released Tuesday, contains 105 different line items, with an explanation by each one. The largest item is a $12 million project for homeless veterans in Brevard County, Senate President Mike Haridopolos district. There is also $124 million for capital improvement projects for state colleges and universities included in the list.
The explanations often read added in conference or not requested by agency.
The purpose of a conference is to get House and Senate leaders together for another last look at the budget, Negron said.
Negron further defended the budget and noted that it saves nearly $4 billion, making up the states budget shortfall while including tax relief to businesses and property owners. The turkey list, he said, places too much faith in the executive branch to make wise budget decisions, instead of in the collaborative process of duly elected lawmakers in the Legislature.
Dominic Calabro, president and CEO of TaxWatch, defended the list as a way to aid lawmakers, but admitted that the list is governor friendly. The list, issued by TaxWatch since 1983, has helped governors ax $2 billion from state budgets. He said he respected Negron and the budget process, and even praised the overall budget document, noting that the $203 million in potential savings is 0.03 percent of the $69.7 billion budget.
You talk about nobody bats 1.000, well they (the Legislature) were at .997, thats pretty good, Calabro said.
For his part, Gov. Rick Scott applauded TaxWatch's efforts, and has promised additional savings through line-item vetoes ahead of his planned signing of the budget Thursday.
TaxWatch is on the right track. There are far too many tax dollars in this budget that could be put toward more important priorities. Education is a good example of an area we could better use our limited tax revenue, rather than shipping it off for special-interest earmarks," Scott press secretary Lane Wright said.
Calabro thinks Scott will find savings above and beyond the $203 million outlined in the turkey list, but lawmakers who worked on the budget arent so sure.
Its hard for me to see how -- regardless of what Florida TaxWatch said -- the governor can veto very much out of the budget, because its already very lean, said Sen. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando.
Siplin added that the $3.4 million he helped pull down for the Pine Hills Neighborhood redevelopment project in his district and listed as a turkey by TaxWatch will help spur economic development and private-sector jobs, part of Scotts agenda.
Throughout the budget process, lawmakers complained that any comparison of member projects to the much-derided earmarks at the federal level were unwarranted. Negron echoed that sentiment Wednesday, saying that such criticism was better suited to profligate federal spending.
Theres a big difference between the states and the federal government. We cant borrow money from China, we cant print money, Negron said.
Reach Gray Rohrer at grohrer@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
