Florida Forever is no more as Republican leaders omit it from budget

[seafan]

Florida Forever is no more as leaders omit it from budget

By Jim Ash
Florida Capital Bureau Chief

April 29, 2009

Florida Forever suffered a fatal blow Tuesday as legislative leaders agreed not to fund the nation's largest environmental land-buying program.

The announcement Tuesday evening from House Speaker Larry Cretul came after earlier attempts to kill the deal on the floor of the House. Efforts both to save Florida Forever in the Senate and to undermine it in the House were pointless as Cretul and Senate President Jeff Atwater had already decided not to include it in the budget.

Earlier in the day, the House stripped a scaled-down Florida Forever rescue plan from a Senate bill that was cobbled together by Senate Democratic Leader Al Lawson of Tallahassee and Sen. Carey Baker, R-Mount Dora.

Facing a $6 billion budget shortfall, both chambers initially zeroed out the program's $12 million appropriation. But Lawson and Baker, working with Senate budget chief JD Alexander of Lake Wales, found a new funding source, $10 million from the potentially $400 million windfall the state could reap by closing a loophole that allowed corporations to avoid paying documentary stamp taxes on land transactions.

The House wanted to use $350 million from royalties that could have come if the Senate had gone along with a plan to allow oil and gas drilling within three miles of Florida's shores.

These dirty Republican greed mongers are looting everything in sight on the way out.



Fury doesn't describe this any more.

[lpbk2713]

1. Here come the carpet baggers ... again.

:eyes:

[monmouth]

2. Yeah, but we got those friggin' "Jesus" licenses plates. Save us!....n/t