Governor readies for possible deficit vetoes
TALLAHASSEE (AP) – Gov. Charlie Crist says he has his veto pen ready for a budget deficit-elimination package but won’t use it until next week.
“It’s in my pocket,” Crist said after lawmakers passed the $2.6 billion plan. “There are some items that concern me and I’m pretty close to some definite decisions.”
The Republican governor is expected to sign a budget revision bill (SB 2-A) and conforming legislation into law, but his line-item veto power will let him restore some of the $1.2 billion in spending cuts. Crist has until Jan. 29 to act.
Crist said he may cross out reductions to probation officers and bonuses paid to board-certified teachers.
The state laid off 66 probation officers shortly after the GOP-controlled Legislature passed the deficit plan with nearly all Democrats in opposition. Teachers who thought they had qualified for 10 percent bonuses would get only 8 percent unless Crist vetoes that item.
“Some of the teachers who are nationally certified sort of may have been counting on that, so that pulls at my heart,” Crist said. “Making sure that we have the best education we can for our children and communities that are safe for all of our people are two of the most important things we do in government.”
The governor last week met with home builders who want him to veto a $190 million cut in the state’s affordable housing program. Builders say they won’t be able to finish some projects they’ve already begun if he lets the reduction stand.
“I’m very sympathetic to the situation they’re dealing with,” Crist said. “Any way that we can responsibly free up funds to help them continue to have affordable housing for our fellow Floridians I think it’s extremely important, especially now.”
Environmentalists also have urged Crist to veto a suspension of the state’s Florida Forever program that protects and buys conservation lands. The governor said he hasn’t yet made a decision.
Besides cuts, t he deficit package taps reserves, raids state trust funds, shifts money within the budget and increases traffic fines.
It plugs a budget hole of at least $2.3 billion with about $300 million to spare. That will let Crist veto some items without violating a constitutional ban on deficit spending. If all cuts are approved, they would shrink the current year budget, which runs through June 30, to about $65 billion.
Crist was back in Tallahassee after attending President Barack Obama’s inauguration in Washington, D.C., where he met other governors facing the similar financial problems.
“It’s like ‘How are you doing? How’s your deficit? How are you all dealing with this?’ ” Crist said. “That’s topic A.”
The governors want a share of the economic stimulus plan Obama has promised to help alleviate state deficits, and Crist has led lobbying efforts to direct some of that cash to education.
“I’m optimistic about it, I really am,” Crist said. “Invariably when you do something that big and bold there are challenges and there are some critics and cynics. That’s not something that won’t be overcome.”