Jan 5, 2009 10:13 am US/Eastern
Special Session Begins To Slash State Budget
Legislators Looking To Cut $2.3 Billion
Special Session Set To Last 2 Weeks
TALLAHASSEE (CBS4) ―
Florida legislators convene Monday to get down to work on cutting $2.3 billion from the current state budget during a two-week special session brought on by the economic crisis.
Lawmakers fear a nearly $4 billion deficit in the next fiscal year that begins July 1, 2009, resulting in even fewer health benefits for the poor and more overcrowding in a state prison system that already houses more than 100,000 criminals.
Florida law requires the state live within its means and lawmakers are required to have a balanced budget. In other words, the state constitution prevents the state from spending any money while in a deficit.
Florida is hardly alone in the revenue crisis caused by a year-long national recession that has left other states in even more financial difficulty.
The deepening recession is also increasing demand for Medicaid, unemployment benefits and food stamps, which one in 10 Floridians already receive.
The governor and Legislative Budget Commission could borrow up to $1 billion from the state's tobacco settlement fund, but the fund only has $1.1 billion available right now. The value has dropped nearly a billion dollars since June because of recent losses on Wall Street.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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