Lawmakers to return to Capitol next week

Special to the
Capital Outlook

In only a few days, on March 2, the Florida Legislature will reconvene.  When the lawmakers return, all can expect a long list of weighty issues to await them again this year: budget cuts, unemployment, off-shore drilling, health care and more.

As the nation still tries to regain its economic balance, this city is bracing for more budget cuts and skyrocketing costs.  According to Florida Trend magazine, it is projected that the state will have “a $2.6-billion budget shortfall, the highest unemployment rate in more than three decades and an unemployment trust fund that’s in the red.”

There is hardly a state in the nation where legislators will not have to grapple with economic conditions that have resulted in major cutbacks, gutted businesses, and sharply increasing costs for food, fuel and higher education.

In this university town, schools and universities are facing deep cuts that could lead to everything from furloughs to layoffs to the dismantling of programs, officials say. More on education: One legislator is even proposing that the FCAT test be dropped.

In next week’s issue, the Capital Outlook will report on the local legislative agenda and take a close look at the Florida Conference of Black State Legislators.