More budget cuts are likely underway as the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature will no doubt stick to their playbook and slash expenditures once again to fill a looming budget gap.
Florida lawmakers on the House Appropriations Committee learned Thursday they will face a general revenue budget deficit of $1.2 billion to $2.3 billion for the upcoming 2012-2013 budget year.
Should GOP lawmakers continue to balance the budget with expenditure cuts entirely, the state’s general revenue would decrease by 5.1 percent to 10 percent next year, JoAnne Leznoff, committee staff, informed lawmakers, the newsserviceflorida.com reports.
The projections presented to the committee made no assumption on how lawmakers would make up the deficit.
But if the past is any guide, Gov. Rick Scott and the legislature, in the current budget, relied almost exclusively on spending cuts and slashed expenditures to the tune of $3.5 billion, undercutting vital services such as education, health, programs for the needy and unemployment benefits, among others.
No indication has been given that there are proposals on the table to produce new revenues, through modernizing the tax sytem which remains inadequate, unfair and antiquated.
Scott, earlier this year, signed off on a $30 million corporate tax cut for small businesses, further reducing tax collections.
