Legislature 2015: The session ahead

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TALLAHASSEE

With a healthier budget forecast and a newly re-elected governor, Florida lawmakers begin their annual 2015 session on Tuesday facing a familiar set of issues.

Tax cuts will be on the agenda. Lawmakers will renew their debate over Medicaid expansion. And gambling legislation may become a major issue before the Legislature adjourns in early May.

But new issues will also confront the 40-member Florida Senate and 120-member House. Lawmakers will have to incorporate a new constitutional amendment that directs more spending on environmental initiatives. Legislative leaders are also advancing a major water policy bill for the state.

And lawmakers will have to resolve a growing outcry over the expanding use of tests in the public school system.

Legislature 2015: The players

Gov. Rick Scott, who won his re-election bid in November, has set the stage for the 60-day session by advancing a $77 billion state budget plan as well as $673 million in tax cuts. Scott, who oversaw a $1.3 billion education spending cut in his first year in office, also wants lawmakers to raise funding for Florida public schools to a historic high.

Scott says his budget proposal “builds on the foundation laid during the last four years of cutting taxes, investing record amounts in education, lowering the cost of higher education and improving workforce development.”

Senate Appropriations Chairman Tom Lee, R-Brandon, called Scott’s budget “a good starting point” that is also in line with the Legislature’s support for tax cuts, economic development programs, higher school funding and lowering the cost of higher education.

But there will be plenty of debate over how to achieve those goals, starting with Scott’s $673 million tax-cutting plan.

His biggest tax reduction would be a $471 million cut in the tax that Floridians pay on their cellphone and cable television bills — although that works out to about $43 a year for every $100 a month that Floridians pay for communications services.

Scott also wants to eliminate the state sales tax on book purchases by college students.

“Obviously there are a lot of tax-cut ideas in the queue,” Lee said, adding that specific bills will have to be worked out in House and Senate negotiations.

Legislature 2015: The Issues

The work of the budget committees will be easier this year; state economists have forecast a surplus for the coming year in the range of $1 billion.

But one fiscal challenge could alter that scenario. The federal government recently announced it was firm in its decision to end a $2.2 billion program that reimburses Florida hospitals that care for large numbers of poor and uninsured patients. The so-called “low income pool,” or LIP, will expire by July 1, the start of the new budget year.

Lee said lawmakers are prepared to deal with that possibility. “There’s plenty of time to react and develop a budget,” he said. But he also said lawmakers interpret the federal decision as ending the current LIP program but remaining open to alternatives.

“It doesn’t mean they’re not willing to look at a wide array of options,” he said.

In a related issue, the Legislature will again consider expanding Medicaid, the state-federal health care program for the poor and disabled, under the Affordable Care Act. A coalition of hospitals and business groups are pushing an alternative expansion plan, one the Senate has said will be considered.

But as long as the expansion plan relies on federal funding, House leaders are expected to renew their opposition. House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, said his chamber remains committed to a plan that offers “a sustainable, effective, private-sector based solution that meets Florida’s needs.”

While the two chambers may differ on the approach to Medicaid expansion, Crisafulli and Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, have announced a joint “work plan” for this session, signaling there will be more accord than discord in coming weeks.

The shared agenda includes tax relief, higher spending on education, a major water policy and initiatives aimed at expanding education and work opportunities for Floridians with disabilities.

“We’ve seen what can happen when the House and Senate set priorities early and work together toward common goals,” Gardiner said, referring to the past two sessions where House and Senate leaders set a similar agenda.

But achieving a major element in that plan will not be easy. The House and Senate are already taking different approaches on developing a statewide water policy. And the debate is complicated by the passage of Amendment 1, which requires lawmakers to spend about $757 million on environmental programs in the new budget.

Environmental groups, which want to see a revival of the Florida Forever conservation land program, have already said lawmakers are advancing projects, like stormwater treatment systems, that “do not fit into the purposes of Amendment 1.”

“Those projects can be funded from other sources, including federal funds, local government funds and utilities,” said a statement from a coalition of environmental groups that backed the amendment last fall. “Legislators should use Amendment 1 to fund existing conservation programs, such as land acquisition, management and Everglades restoration.”

In his budget proposal, Scott endorsed using $150 million for Everglades restoration and $150 million for Florida Forever.

Another major issue that brings uncertainty to the session is gambling. The state’s agreement with the Seminole Tribe of Florida, allowing tribe facilities to offer card games like blackjack, will expire in July. If not renewed, it could result in a loss of roughly $160 million in the coming year.

It will be up to Scott to reach an initial agreement with the Seminoles and then bring the proposal to the Legislature for final approval. But if a new Seminole deal emerges, it is likely to provide momentum for a broader gambling bill that could include financial incentives for Florida’s existing dog and horse tracks, while also opening up possibilities for a major Las Vegas-style casino in the state.

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Lloyd Dunkelberger

Lloyd Dunkelberger is the Htpolitics.com Capital Bureau Chief. He can be reached by email or call 850 556-3542. ""More Dunkelberger" Make sure to "Like" HT Politics on Facebook for all your breaking political news.
Last modified: March 1, 2015
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