Legislative Affairs : Budget Status Report - Week #6  :

Budget Status Report - Week #6

Sandra Wilson, April 11, 2008

This week, the House and Senate passed their respective appropriations bills.  There were no amendment changes made to FWC’s budget, so the issues remain the same as previously reported.   The bills are available online at:

House Bill 5001:
http://flhouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?FileName=h5001e1.pdf&DocumentType=Bill&BillNumber=5001&Session=2008

Senate Bill 2900:
http://www.flsenate.gov/data/session/2008/Senate/bills/billtext/pdf/s2900e1.pdf
FWC issues start with line item 1946 and run through line 2058. 

There are significant differences between the two bills that will need to be worked out during the budget conference, scheduled to begin next week.  The conference issues are still the same as reported last week:

Vessel registration fee increase vs. LE positions cut
House Bill 5001 cuts 66 FWC law enforcement positions and $3.3 million in order to reduce state General Revenue (GR) spending.  It also cuts the $2 million marine mammal care budget which includes $1.15 million for manatee rehabilitation and $850,000 for UF marine mammal veterinary support.  HB 5081 then redirects the savings from the marine mammal care cut to be paid to GR for the next five years.  The funding source for this is documentary stamp tax revenue.

The Senate proposes a 55% increase in vessel registration fees (SB 1286) in order to avoid having to cut law enforcement positions and marine mammal care.  The Senate would use the revenue generated by this increase for the following:

• Release $3 million GR by fund shifting law enforcement costs from GR to vessel registration fees (this avoids cuts to LE positions)

• Move $2 million marine mammal care funding (oceanaria & UF veterinary) from documentary stamps to vessel registration.

• Fund an additional $900,000 for law enforcement fuel costs

• Fund $1,550,000 and one employee for derelict vessel removal (the House funded $2.8 million GR for derelict vessel removal)

Other Reductions

The House bill cuts the $210,000 alligator trapper stipend and redirects the savings to GR for the next five years (HB 5081).   The Senate cuts three positions and $183,737 (one in Habitat & Species Conservation and two in the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute).  These positions had been vacant over 180 days due to difficulties recruiting qualified applicants. 

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Fund Shifts

Fund shifts change the revenue source supporting activities and are often used to take GR from an agency without having to cut an activity.  The House and Senate each had differing fund shift actions for FWC in their bills.  These will be worked out further in conference and include:

• Fund shift $1.2 million administrative costs from GR to trust funds to eliminate all GR from administrative activities.  House & Senate amounts differed slightly.

• The Senate shifts $157,489 program costs from GR to trusts which eliminates all remaining GR from Habitat & Species Conservation, Freshwater Fisheries and Marine Fisheries.

• The House shifts $2.05 million marine research costs from GR to trust, spending the research & management portion of the saltwater fishing license fee increase.

• The Senate shifts $500,000 law enforcement out of land management documentary stamp funding and into the license fee increase.  This is necessary due to the shortfall in documentary stamp revenues.

• The House shifts $500,000 law enforcement costs from GR to trust to use savings generated from earlier trust fund cuts.

Requests

Our law enforcement retention pay issue will not be decided until the very last part of the budget conference.  This is normal procedure for all pay actions.  We are continuing our lobby efforts and will do so through conference.

The Senate funded our $360,022 commercial license system re-write, the House did not.  The House fully funded our $3.4 million Gopher Tortoise conservation issue (including 4 positions), the Senate funded half of it.  The House picked up our license plate sales issue and two boating safety grant positions, the Senate did not, however the Senate did support 26 grant-funded positions (half of our request).  Both sides supported our artificial reef issue, however, the House provided an additional $1.1 million.  The House fully funded our mitigation park land acquisition, but not the Florida Forever.  The Senate funded Florida Forever, but cut the mitigation park land acquisition by $5 million.

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Invasive Plant Management Transfer

A number of substantive bills are traveling with the appropriations bills in both houses because they have an effect on the budget.  These have been referred to the budget conference to be decided along with all the other budget issues.  One of these, House Bill 5079, contains a provision that transfers the Bureau of Invasive Plant Management from DEP to FWC, including 29 positions, a $44 million budget and a trust fund.  This bureau is responsible for directing the control, eradication and regulation of noxious aquatic weeds and invasive exotic plants on public lands and waters.  Staff feel this is a good fit with activities currently conducted within our Division of Habitat and Species Conservation and would welcome the transfer should it take place. 

Other

The House reduced our transfer coming from the Department of Environmental Protection’s Coastal Protection Trust Fund (CPTF) by $1,157,326.  This has the effect of shifting an equivalent amount of our law enforcement spending from CPTF to license fees.  In addition, the House takes a one-time cash sweep from the Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund of $1.93 million.

FWC Conference lobbying efforts are already underway and we are hopeful for some favorable gains as move forward in the process.

The attached charts are our side-by-side comparisons.  The first one shows conference issues only and the second includes our full budget request.

• Budget Conference Issues (208KB)

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