Fla. Gov. Scott unveils $74.2B budget
Gov. Rick Scott this week unveiled his long-awaited Fiscal Year 2013-14 budget. Thanks to expected revenue increases, Scott and state legislators will not have to grapple with a budget shortfall and tough cuts for the first time in several years.
Joined by university presidents and teachers, Scott rolled out his $74.2 billion “Florida Families First” budget, which includes a $2,500 across-the-board salary raise for teachers, bonuses for high-performing state employees who have not seen a pay increase in seven years, funding restoration to universities whose budgets were cut in previous years, and additional tax cuts for businesses. His budget also calls for increased funding for environmental initiatives, including Everglades restoration.
Critics on the left have said that Scott’s budget departs from his past cuts for purely political purposes, as his reelection looms next year. Some on the right have criticized his budget for being too large, since it is the state’s largest on record. (Taking inflation into account, Florida’s 2006-07 budget of $73.8 billion would have been $84 billion in 2012 dollars.)
At the end of the day, the Florida Constitution requires lawmakers to adopt a balanced budget, and given the difficulties Scott inherited, his proposal to increase the salaries of public employees who have not seen a raise in several years does not appear unreasonable during an improved revenue situation.
Florida lawmakers will convene in March for their 2013 Regular Legislative Session and will no doubt dissect the governor’s proposed budget. Stay tuned for what is sure to be anything but a smooth process to decide what to do with the state’s first budget surplus since the previous administration.
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