Budget Gap Could Stymie Legislature
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (CBSMiami) – State economists said Thursday that there should be modest growth in tax collections this year, but not nearly enough to make a difference with the state's nearly $2 billion deficit.
Economists have been meeting all day to come up with a final figure that state lawmakers will use as they draw up the coming year's state budget. The state's fiscal year starts July 1, and in any other year, the budget would be passed in early May.
However, since the legislature has to deal with the once-a-decade redistricting from the 2010 U.S. Census; lawmakers started the session early in January.
Senate president Mike Haridopolos floated the idea of delaying work on the budget until later in the year. House Speaker Dean Cannon and Governor Rick Scott both want the legislature to finish the work on a budget in the legislature's 60-day session.
"Unless somebody has a better idea…It seems to me we ought to go forward and get it done," Scott said.
