By: Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board | Orlando Sentinel
Looking only at the bottom lines in the two budget blueprints unveiled recently by the Florida Senate and House, it might appear the two chambers are almost in sync. The Senate would spend $87.3 billion in the fiscal year that begins July 1, and the House would spend $87.2 billion — a gap of about a tenth of 1 percent.
But on closer examination, there are significant differences in the dueling budget proposals, including in three critical areas. And the better approach in all three comes from the upper chamber.
Affordable housing: The Senate would wisely invest the full $322 million available from the state trust funds created to expand the supply of places to live for low- and middle-income families. The House would recklessly raid $182 million from the trust funds to fill other holes in their budget.
Legislators have made a habit of mounting annual raids on these trust funds, diverting nearly $2 billion over 25 years in collections from a tax specifically raised to generate dollars for affordable housing. Doing so again in the next budget — just as a wave of tens of thousands of evacuees from Hurricane Maria threatens to aggravate the state’s chronic housing shortage — would be incredibly irresponsible. In fact, a task force the Legislature convened last year urged members not to keep pilfering the trust funds.
The lack of affordable housing in Florida puts low-income families at risk of homelessness and separates many middle-income families from the communities where they work. Spending the trust funds as they’re intended would help alleviate the shortage, attract matching dollars from federal and private sources, create jobs and boost the state’s economy. That makes the Senate’s plan sensible, and the House’s indefensible.
Florida Forever: Before the Great Recession struck a decade ago, legislators used to invest $300 million a year in the state’s signature program for buying environmentally sensitive land to protect it from development. After they starved Florida Forever for several years running, voters passed a constitutional amendment in 2014 earmarking $18 billion over 20 years for investments in land and water conservation. Yet legislators have continued to shortchange the program.
The Senate would spend $150 million next year on Florida Forever — half as much as its former funding level, but a big improvement over the current year, when it didn’t get a penny. The House would spend just $8 million.
More than 700,000 acres of natural land have been purchased through Florida Forever to preserve wildlife habitat, safeguard water sources and expand recreation areas, but the program has identified more than 2 million additional acres in need of protection. The risk of losing those acres to development will intensify as the state keeps growing. The Senate’s budget plan takes this risk seriously; the House’s doesn’t.
Higher education: Following the lead of its president, Republican Joe Negron, the Senate would raise state spending on public universities next year by $383 million. The House would slash spending in the same category by $216 million, forcing schools to raid their reserves.
Under Negron, the Senate has put a priority on more funding for higher education to expand access for students and help universities invest more in top faculty and research. A more nationally competitive university system in Florida is critical to attracting and growing high-wage employers and strengthening the state’s economy. Only the Senate spending plan acknowledges this.
The two chambers will need to reconcile their rival spending plans and pass a consensus budget by March 9 to finish this year’s legislative session on time. Florida will be much better off if the Senate prevails on affordable housing, Florida Forever and higher education.
Article last accessed here on February 5, 2018. A print-ready version is available here.