Legislative Connection
March 30th – April 3rd
2009 Legislative Session
nce upon a time a land known far and wide as The State was in the throes of deep economic decline. Commoners and the elite alike were being laid off from their jobs in record numbers. Untold thousands were being tossed onto the streets, booted from their homes due to foreclosure. The government couldn’t intervene because surplus revenues had been squandered in years past when warnings were ignored and money given back that could have been saved for a rainy day. Men and women elected to represent the populace were traveling long distances from hither and yon by many forms of conveyances to find a way out of the fiscal mess. Yet those with the most ambitious and thoughtful plans were not being heard. Progressive proposals 
saving the state millions even billions of dollars were being shunted due to being labeled as having “fiscal impact”. Some were even bringing forth new revenue reductions and caps at a time when a patchwork of fees was being cobbled together to keep the government and its current obligations afloat.
It doesn’t feel like much of a fairy tale. Even children’s stories focus on the future, what will deliver the reader to “happily ever after”. Of course, the successful outcome depends on a hero or heroine to emerge as a knight in shining armor to slay the forces of darkness and evil. Who might that Florida knight be?
In the scuffle to reach a balanced budget agreement concerns about the present and future impact on children are evaporating. Florida’s current budget premise borrows more from an adult throwaway (and failing to learn the moral), “we will deal with it tomorrow…for tomorrow is another day.”
Legislators are putting a lot of faith (and plenty on the line) for stimulus money deriving from federal sources that the state may not receive in time for the end of regular session. States that cut school budgets in year’s past are having their education stimulus dollars closely scrutinized as would be expected. That translates to $900-million in education funds for Florida. Should these dollars fail to materialize in either amount or timeliness, both the Senate and House proposed budgets would have to be reworked. Cuts across all services to children could be catastrophic.
Sky is falling or actual scenario? It depends largely on the federal bail-out. This solution, as helpful as it would be to save a range of programs and services this year, however, doesn’t take into account its nonrecurring nature. Florida is risking a crunching collision for the 2010-2011 fiscal year by not addressing revenue reform. It is, instead, focused merely on the piecemeal user fees and cigarette taxes currently being discussed. As it is, there is more push in the Senate for many of them than in the House.
Regardless of the outcome, Florida must stare into the looking glass and decide if this is the best it can do?
The newly released House proposal focuses on using federal stimulus dollars “to restore, fund and retain services to the greatest extent possible.” The House bill includes $76.8 million in federal stimulus for health and human services including foster care, domestic violence prevention, and victim services. $179.5 million in federal stimulus funds are earmarked to be split between School Readiness and Workforce Programs at the Agency for Workforce Innovation.
Reductions in the House proposal include; Medicaid County Health Department expenditures by 1.5%, Children’s Medical Services by 1.6%, Guardian ad Litem by $7.6 million, or 23%, resulting in 5,700 children being dropped, and $2.8 million for supervisory and executive direction positions in the Department of Juvenile Justice. But Department of Corrections funding of prison beds will be increased while drug treatment in corrections will be decreased. That story line with all of its tragic conclusions keeps being written, year after year.
$14.2 million is restored to adoption subsidies, and a partial restoration - $5.6 million - of community-based foster care services.
The Senate is taking a different approach by spreading out the stimulus over two years instead of one, with the result being harder immediately on health and human services than the House plan. Reductions are found in Community Based Care ($9 million) and Juvenile Assessment Centers ($2 million). Currently, additions are made in Early Steps ($3 million) and Adoption Maintenance Subsidies ($17.1 million).
Overall, neither House nor Senate versions as they exist today cut Healthy Start, independent living, or pre-kindergarten (except for administrative positions).
Stimulus dollars and cuts to services are not enough to balance the budget, so the legislature is looking to other revenue enhancements in the form of increasing fees for everything from fishing supplies, licenses, and burial plots. The House proposed a surcharge to every license tax which will fund PACE Center for Girls and CINS/FINS.
The House select committee on tribal gaming voted to give the Seminole Tribe exclusive rights to operate slot machines in exchange for $100 million dollars a year. This also allows Gov. Crist to renegotiate the much debated gambling contract. The Senate is also including gaming in its proposal but with broader allowances for gaming activities.
Included in the House budget is a graduated pay reduction for state employees. There is no reduction for those earning $0 to $26,400, 4% for those between $26,400 to $80,000 (except no one will be reduced below $26,400) and a 5% reduction for those above $80,001. The House proposal will also terminate employer contribution for disability and life insurance effective January 1, 2010. The Senate is expected to call for a 1% pay cut of state employees above a six figure salary ($100,000+).
Whether through direct cut to services or the failure to take the opportunity to truly address the revenue needs, Florida’s children are likely to pay this debt in the years to come. The way things are going, it doesn’t seem likely that we are going to reach “happily ever after” anytime soon.
Bills:
The Children’s Campaign major juvenile justice reform, SB 2218 sponsored by Senator Steve Wise (R-Duval) passed the Committee on Children Families and Elder Affairs, chaired by Ronda Storms (R-Hillsborough), with a unanimous vote. This was the second committee to pass the measure. The bill takes recommendations made by the Blueprint Commission and translates them into state law. Major focus areas, among others, include legal representation at all stages of delinquency proceedings, diversion of children 9 years or younger into the state’s CINS/FINS network, Medicaid eligibility for certain juveniles, targeted services for girls, and diversion of first-time drug offenders into treatment programs instead of placement into detention centers.
The Children’s Campaign especially appreciated the comments by Southern Poverty Law Center advocate David Utter, who in his public testimony in support of the bill thanked Bill Sublette and Roy Miller for their hard work and diligence in bringing this legislation forward. Also to be recognized is the Association for Person’s with Disabilities who suggested improvements to the bill as it related to members of designated task forces.
Also passing the committee was SB 2128, sponsored on behalf of DJJ by Senator Victor Crist (R-Hillsborough) which addresses a more limited number of reforms recommended by the Blueprint Commission.
Promise 1: Children’s Health
SB 918 sponsored by Sen. Nan Rich (D-Broward) will be heard on Monday, April 6th, in the Senate Health Regulation Committee. The bill would remove barriers to KidCare and make it easier for families to enroll uninsured eligible children while keeping currently enrolled children covered by simplifying the KidCare program. The bill would also enhance Florida’s eligibility for federal dollars. The House version has not yet been scheduled and time appears to be running out.
Promise 3: Early Education and Care
A bill that would reduce the number of Early Learning Coalitions from 31 to 20, thus increasing the number of children served by each ELC, has passed the Senate Commerce Committee by a vote of 6 to 4. SB 2570 by Sen. Steve Wise (R-Duval) shifts authority from the local level to the Agency for Workforce Innovation, reduces the number of members on the boards, and puts the Florida Association of Child Care Management (FACCM) in the position of advisor to the Agency. There was strong testimony and debate from child advocates. Members of FACCM “waved” in support of the bill. The bill is now scheduled for Senate Education/Pre-K Committee. The House companion has not been scheduled.
Promise 5: Juvenile Justice
HB 173 by Rep. Sandy Adams (R-Seminole) authorizes a court to retain jurisdiction over a child and the child's parent or guardian until the costs, fees, and costs associated with court-appointed counsel are satisfied. The bill also allows placement decisions by the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice upon adjudication of a child by the courts could be over-ridden by judges without cause. This bill, as expected, is moving through the House, passing through the Full Appropriations Council on General Government & Health Care on its way to the House floor. This bill flies in the face of the findings of the Juvenile Justice Blueprint Commission and would have negative consequences for youth in the juvenile justice system. Although the companion bill is not moving in the Senate, two other juvenile justice bills are moving through the process with pieces of HB 173 embedded in them.
For other bills, continue reading:
Promise 1 (child health, including; maternal health, KidCare, mental health, etc.)
Promise 2 (child protection, including; foster care, adoption, independent living, etc.)
Promise 3 (early learning and care, including; pre-k, child care, etc.)
Promise 4(after school, including before and after school programs, summer school, etc.)
Promise 5 (juvenile justice, including juvenile justice reform, girls issues, minority overrepresentation, etc.)
Legislative Connection was brought to you by:
Amanda Ostrander, Webmaster
Roy Miller, President
Children’s Campaign, Inc.