State Government Local Funding Falls Under the Veto Axe

BRADENTON — Florida Governor Rick Scott signed the state's $78.2 billion budget Tuesday morning with little fanfare or advance notice. Several local projects were among the $461 million plus vetoed by the governor.

Scott used his his line-item veto to curb much of the over $300 million added during negotiations at the end of the legislature's special session. $15 million for a downtown Orlando campus for the University of Central Florida was among the big-ticket items to be struck down by the governor.

Local organizations who looked like big winners in the special session saw their hopes dashed, as Scott nixed more than $2 million for IMG Academy; $758,000 for Goodwill Manasota; $500,000 for Pirate City; $500,000 for an emergency room diversion program for Manatee County and $300,000 for a residency program at Manatee Glens.

In Sarasota County, $1.1 million for the Mote Marine Laboratory was vetoed, along with $500,000 for the Circus Arts Conservatory; another $500,000 for the Sarasota County Agricultural Fair Association; and $250,000 for a Phillippi Creek septic cleanup.

The legislature passed the budget on Friday after negotiating a final bill on Tuesday and waiting the mandatory 72-hour "cooling off period." Several of the cut items had been fought for by members of the state senate, who clashed with the governor over the indigent health care issue that was ultimately responsible for the legislature not having completed a budget by the end of the annual 60-day session. If they were seen as concessions for supporting a final budget that was ultimately much closer to the House's version, they quickly vanished under the governor's veto pen.

For his part, Scott received only $400 million of the $700 million he sought in tax cuts. The increase in per-student public school spending also fell short of his campaign promises, though it will still be a 3 percent increase from last year.

If a budget was not passed by July 1, Florida faced a partial government shutdown. The health care issue was finally negotiated with the state putting more than $400 million toward stabilizing hospitals during the reduction of federal Low-Income Pool funding this October. The issue is expected to again dominate the session when the legislature reconvenes in 2016.