Legilstive Report #10

Legislative Update # 10
TO: All Interested Persons
FR: Jack Bovee, Legislative Chair, FCSS
RE: Latest Legislative News from EDD

For additional information on Florida legislators or issues go to ONLINE SUNSHINE - http://www.leg.state.fl.us/



EMERGENT DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
FEBRUARY 20, 2009

The Legislature has finished the last committee week before the beginning of the regular session. They will be returning March 3rd to begin working on the Legislation and on the budget. Money will be the big issue on everyone’s mind and this 60 day session should result in many heated discussions on how to solve the Florida financial crisis.

BUDGET PROJECTIONS
The Legislature is faced with two budget problems. First, there is expected to be an additional shortfall for the current year (2008-09). There is a rumor that they may try to solve this problem by using some of the Federal Stimulus money. This solution is contingent upon whether Florida will receive the stabilization fund dollars and that these dollars will flow in a timely manner. If this scenario does not work, school districts could face an additional 2% reduction this year. The second budget issue is the projected shortfall of up to $5 Billion for the next fiscal year. This shortfall, if not solved, could result in a 16% reduction in next year’s budget. Many districts are facing the reality of reducing the number of employees, including a large number of teachers.

Possible considerations on the revenue side are:
$1.00 increase on a pack of cigarettes which would generate $700 Million – this revenue could
possibly be earmarked for health.
removal of some of the exemptions from the sales tax, and
enforcing the sales tax on items purchased on the Internet

Of course, the federal stabilization money could come into play to help solve the situation. There is very little discussion of an increase in the sales tax, even on a limited number of years basis. A one cent increase in sales tax would be expected to raise over $3.5 Billion.

Bills have been filed to grant districts with flexibility in a broad range of categorical items and statutory requirements in an effort the assist school districts in the budgeting process.

FEDERAL STIMULUS BILL
The $787 Billion dollar Stimulus bill was signed into law this week. It is a very complex piece of legislation. It will take a period of time for answers regarding how, when, and where the money will flow.

One big issue for Florida will be the waiver process. The Stimulus bill requires that state education budgets needed to be funded at least at the same level as they were in the 2006-2007 school year. That year was the all time high for Florida funding of education and funding for education has declined ever since. While this same scenario is true for several states, we will have to wait and see how the waiver process will work. I feel confident that this issue will be solved and Florida will receive the appropriated share of the money.

The web is overloaded with information concerning the Stimulus bill. The following sites may be of interest to you.
http://www.fsba.org/userfiles/File/FinalStimulus.County.pdf
http://www.fsba.org/userfiles/File/FinalStimulus.EdNarrative.pdf
http://edworkforce.house.gov/
http://www.ncsl.org/statefed/2009economicstimulus.htm
http://www.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/statetables/09arrastatetables.pdf
http://fdsys.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-111hr1ENR/pdf/BILLS-111hr1ENR.pdf

Much of the Stimulus money is spread over a two year period, with some taking a bit longer. The process of getting dollars to the districts is expected to be completed on a fast track. Some money is formula driven, while other moneys will require grant application and approval. I would expect that due to the complexity of the bill, states and districts will run into some unexpected snags before all parts of this legislation is implemented. While estimates of different sections of the bill seem to differ, a rough estimate of Florida’s share of some specific allocations (estimates): Total Florida ($3.5 Billion)
Title 1 ($492 Million)
IDEA ($670 Million)
Educational Technology ($30 Million)
Renovation ($655 Million)
Stabilization ($2.7 Billion)

CLASS SIZE REVISITED
The Legislature has spent approximately $10.5 Billion earmarked for the reduction of class size. The 2009-10 budget includes $828 Million to continue the legislative support for implementation of the class size amendment.
I believe that the Legislature will allow districts to meet the class size issue at the school level for the next year, while they search for a permanent solution. The possibility exists that statutory language could change the implementation of the law and would allow some classes to exceed the constitutional maximum by three or five students. Florida cannot possibly fund the cost of full implementation of this requirement, especially during years with budget shortfalls. Representative Weatherford has filed a bill that would place an item on the ballot to once again address the issue constitutionally.
Please see the PDF Attachment for the additional bills filed in the Legislature (since our last update) as of Feb.18th