Michael Moline
State spending would shrink significantly under the budget being prepared in the Florida House, with much of the savings coming at the expense of projects sought by House members.
“The next fiscal year, we go from a $1.2 billion deficit to an almost $1.1 billion surplus. In the year after, we go from a $1.8 billion deficit to a $1.3 billion surplus,” Appropriations Chairman Carlos Trujillo said during a news conference.
“The way we’ve been able to do that (is) that for the first time we’ve gone after recurring projects and member projects and have eliminated a substantial amount of them. We’ve been much more aggressive with cash balances in the university and state colleges system. We’ve also reviewed hospital funding and hospital rates and have readdressed that,” he said.
That adds up to around $2.2 billion in cuts, for a state budget worth $81.2 billion.
Budget subcommittees killed one-quarter of the $700 million in projects members wanted to bring home to their districts, Trujillo said.
The plan would claw back $80 million in unspent state money that colleges and universities were steering toward their foundations. They’d stored up $840 million on top of the 5 percent reserve the state requires, he said.
“Across the board, in every single silo, all my sub-chairman have done an exceptional job of identifying areas where they could save money,” Trujillo said.
He described the approach to member projects as “aggressive.” They’ve grown by 16 percent during the past 14 years, he said, and constitute the “biggest driver” of spending apart from entitlements like Medicaid.
“We’re doing the water projects and all projects that are considered member projects roughly right under $100 million,” he said, freeing money for projects of statewide importance.
