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Nov 24, 2008 8:18 pm US/Eastern
Happy Holidays: A Halt On Foreclosures?
TALLAHASSEE (AP) ―
Gov. Charlie Crist says he likes the idea of a freeze on home foreclosures in Florida. Florida's foreclosure rate ranked third nationally in October with 30,190 filings.
Last week, mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced a temporary halt to foreclosures and evictions during the holiday season.
"Some of those ideas we can learn from," Crist said. "I think it would be a good thing to do."
The Republican governor said he wants to work with the banking industry to make sure it wouldn't be hurt by a suspension. "We want to stop the foreclosures, especially during the holidays," Crist said. The governor was unsure whether that would require an act of the Legislature.
Crist isn't the first governor to propose a temporary ban on foreclosures. Nearly three weeks ago, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed a 90-day moratorium for homeowners facing default; lenders would still be able to exempt themselves under certain circumstances.
Last week, Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell included a six-month foreclosure halt as part of a bill she's offering to help struggling homeowners and renters.
Foreclosures aren't the only problems on Crist's plate. He's also trying to focus on the state economy, expected to see a large deficit next year. Crist said he's open to calling a special legislative session to deal with a growing state revenue shortfall but that raising taxes is the last thing he wants to do. Legislative leaders have said everything's on the table.
With Florida's economy reeling, state economists Friday issued a new general revenue estimate that's $1.4 billion less than previously forecast for the current budget year that ends June 30. They also dropped their prediction for the next budget year by $2.3 billion. The new estimate creates a potential $2.14 billion current-year deficit.
Options for filling that hole include nearly $700 million remaining in the budget's reserve fund and borrowing up to $1 billion from the state's tobacco settlement trust fund. The latter could be done by Crist and a special legislative panel without a special session.
The Legislature also could make a 4 percent spending holdback the governor ordered before the budget went into effect July 1 permanent. Crist said has two preconditions for that alternative: it shouldn't affect public school classrooms and teachers nor recipients of state health and human services.
Crist said there's reason for optimism, though, about next year's budget. "I understand that our friends at the federal level may be giving us a significant boost as it relates to Medicaid," Crist said. "It could be as much as $900 million. That's not a small sum of money. That's more than a glimmer of hope. That's a lot of potential hope."
(© 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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