The Florida Times Union | March 11, 2015
Advocates for funding transportation and affordable-housing projects are concerned about losing money as the Florida Senate considers how to pay for the voter-mandated changes in the way land and water conservation is funded by the state.
The advocates don’t think much of the Senate’s approach, which would strip money from trust funds for transportation and housing. They prefer the method before the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee, which unanimously supported a pair of measures (HB 1291 and HB 1295) that deal with the requirements of Amendment 1, which was approved by 75 percent of the state’s voters in November
Unlike the package of six Senate bills, the 191-page House proposal by Rep. Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, wouldn’t cut the amount of real-estate tax dollars that would be shifted from trust funds for housing and transportation.
“The House bill, the way it’s written, holds the housing trust fund harmless,” said Bryan Cherry, a lobbyist for the Florida Coalition for the Homeless.
As approved by voters, Amendment 1 sets up a 20-year funding pool for land and water conservation and management. It is expected to provide about $757 million for land and water projects in the fiscal year that starts July 1, up from around $470 million in the current budget year.
Both the House and Senatte would shift percentages of revenue generated annually through real-estate documentary stamp taxes.
Currently, about 20 percent of the approximately $1.6 billion expected to be raised this year in the real-estate taxes goes to environmental purposes.
The House, which follows closer to a proposal by Gov. Rick Scott, would reduce the amount of “doc stamp” revenue that goes directly to general revenue to help carry out Amendment 1.
The Senate approach would require about $100 million from transportation funding that typically comes from the doc stamps and another $100 million from affordable housing.
Jaimie Ross, president of the Florida Housing Coalition, told the Senate General Government Appropriations Subcommittee on Wednesday that such changes are unnecessary. He pointed out that the affordable housing trusts assist people with disabilities, veterans and working families in need of housing.
Bob Burleson, president of the Florida Transportation Builders Association, said the redistribution could take about $1 billion from the state’s 5-year work program.
Article accessed on March 16 at: http://jacksonville.com/news/politics/2015-03-11/story/land-and-water-conservation-could-come-expense-transportation