Wes Wolfe
It’s closer than it was before, but conferees from the House and Senate have yet to settle on a common funding number for Farm Share and they remain apart on dollars for Feeding Florida.
“We feel this is a very good offer,” Lake Mary Republican Sen. Jason Brodeur said of the latest set of proposed spending on a variety of agriculture, environment and general government areas.
“We have made considerable progress in coming to agreement on many of the issues.”
Senators continued to increase their number for Farm Share, which began with $4 million in their budget bill, before going up to $4.5 million in their first offer to $6.5 million in the latest offer.
The House originally set aside $2.5 million for Farm Share, but increased that to $5 million in their first offer, a response to the Senate’s $4.5 million proposal.
Brevard County Republican Rep. Randy Fine and Palm Harbor Republican Sen. Ed Hooper both filed appropriation project requests with a $5 million ask.
“It is estimated that 40% of the food produced in the United States goes uneaten, and approximately one-fifth of Floridians are food insecure, including 1 million children,” according to the House’s staff analysis of related legislation earlier this Session.
“Each year, millions of pounds of surplus and slightly blemished fresh fruits and vegetables are destroyed while many residents of the state go each day without food.”
In addition to providing help and relief for people who are food insecure, Farm Share lends a hand throughout the state in times of natural disaster recovery.
Conferees are also working out the difference on money to Feeding Florida, which “partners with Florida farmers to source fresh product that would otherwise not find its way into the supply chain — due to it being cosmetically blemished or market shifts — to distribute through … 10 member food banks throughout the State of Florida, in partnership with over 2,500 partner agencies,” according to a funding request placed by Fleming Island Republican Sen. Jennifer Bradley.
Bradley asked for $10 million in her request for the Feeding Florida Healthy Food Initiative, as did Tavares Republican Rep. Keith Truenow.
The House set aside more than $4.7 million in its budget bill, with the Senate sticking by its $6.5 million. House conferees upped their proposal to $5 million in their first offer, but it still falls short of the Senate’s $6.5 million, which the upper chamber countered with again in their following offer.
Budget conference subcommittees will meet throughout the week to resolve differences in each area. When remaining issues reach an impasse, they will be “bumped” to the full budget conference committee.
Lawmakers must reach an agreement on a final spending plan by May 2 to meet the 72-hour “cooling off” period required by the state constitution before they can vote on the budget to avoid pushing the Regular Session past its scheduled May 5 end date.
