2009 could be hardest year yet for Gov. Crist
TALLAHASSEE (AP) – The first year was pretty easy, the second a little harder and now Charlie Crist’s third legislative session as governor will certainly be his toughest yet.
Crist is an eternal optimist at a time when pessimism is seeping through a state where the budget keeps getting smaller, unemployment rates keep getting higher and people are losing their homes at one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation.
“It’s going to be a tough year for everybody,” said lobbyist Ron Book, who added that Crist may have found more resistance even without the hard times. “It’s the year that people push back on any given governor. The honeymoon is over.”
Besides dealing with the budget, Crist’s 2009 agenda includes more work on issues he’s dealt with since taking office: clean energy, property insurance and property taxes. He also wants the Legislature to approve the compact he signed with the Seminole Tribe that would expand gambling at the tribe’s casinos while providing the state with more money.
Crist hopes that the $12 billion the state is expecting from the stimulus package will make the budget less of a problem. The money is to be spread over three budget years.
“It relieves a lot of our pressure. Hopefully those funds will be invested wisely – I’m sure that they will – and we will move on to other issues like energy development, alternative fuels and education, infrastructure and health care,” Crist said.
But getting the Legislature to go along with his proposed $66.5 billion budget won’t be that easy – even though the Legislature is controlled by his fellow Republicans. House and Senate leadership are being more cautious about the budget and have concerns that relying too much on the temporary boost could cause problems down the road.
“I cannot predict the depth and the length of how far the economic downturn is going to run,” said Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach. He and incoming House Speaker Larry Cretul say the state needs to go line-by-line through the state budget and strip it down to bare necessities.
And while times are tight, Crist also wants lawmakers to put property tax proposals on the ballot, including a measure that would give first-time homebuyers a temporary, but big, break on their property taxes. Crist also wants to further limit the amount property taxes can be increased on businesses and second homes.
Other proposed ballot measures would put spending caps on cities and counties and bar tax increases for primary homeowners if their property values go down.
Crist also has two big proposals he wants the Legislature to pass. One would require power companies to increase the percentage of renewable energy sources they use and another would force car companies to sell more fuel efficient cars.