SESSION FOR LAGOON? Negron: Scott’s plan has $130M of $164M sought by lagoon panel Gov. Rick Scott is touting his “It’s Your Money Tax Cut Budget.’’ Senate President Don Gaetz and House Speaker Will Weatherford have put forth their “Work Plan 2014.” Wait a minute: Wasn’t the 2014 Florida legislative session supposed to be “The Year of Water”? Water — particularly the tainted water in the St. Lucie River estuary and Indian River Lagoon — is certainly a focus of the Treasure Coast’s legislative delegation to this year. See SESSION, 8A You can’t fund every proposal with limited resources.” Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart The Indian River Lagoon will be a focus of Treasure Coast legislators this session. FILE PHOTOS State Sen. Joe Negron (second from right) gives House Speaker Will Weatherford (second from left) a tour of the Indian River Lagoon with state Reps. Gayle Harrell (left) and Debbie Mayfield at the Riverwalk in Stuart on Nov. 11. TYLER TREADWAY ANALYSIS Article Continued Below See SESSION on Page A08 SESSION from 1A State Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, will try to get a $220 million package of projects (about $164 million worth in the upcoming fiscal year) to stop the damaging Lake Okeechobee discharges to the estuary and lagoon into the budget, which must be approved by both houses and the governor. And state Rep. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, has filed a House resolution urging Congress to approve the Water Resources Development Act that includes the next phase of Everglades restoration and the Central Everglades Planning Project to move some Lake O water south instead of to the estuary. Water may not be at the top of the agenda for every senator and representative in Tallahassee when the legislative session begins Tuesday, but politicos agree its high enough up the list to get serious consideration - and better yet, some serious money. Hovering over the session will be the proposed Florida Water and Land Conservation Amendment, which would dedicate a third of the proceeds from documentary stamp taxes (aka fees on real estate deals) to buy, restore and maintain land for conservation and recreation. The measure would raise an estimated $10 billion between 2015 and 2035. In anticipation of the amendment being approved by the required 60 percent of voters, legislators are contemplating two paths: Hold off on environmental projects until next year when there will be a ton of money earmarked to pay for them. With 1 million people signing a petition for land conservation, get before the curve and start funding projects now. Weatherford, a Republican from Wesley Chapel, has said he expects both houses to consider spending money on short-term fixes for the lagoon, the estuary and the Everglades, including proposals by Negrons special committee on Lake O discharges. The key word here is consider. The budget process is a competition, as it should be, Negron said. There are winners and losers because you cant fund every proposal with limited resources. So were in competition for limited resources. PLANS OVERLAP Scotts aforementioned Its Your Money budget totals almost $74.2 billion despite setting aside almost $600 million in tax cuts and includes more money for schools, child protection and environmental programs. Scotts plan has about $130 million of the $164 million the lagoon committee is seeking this year, Negron said, So were off to a good start. But Negron wants it all. And that could be a battle. I think Negron is going to get less than everything his committee has recommended, said Eric Draper, executive director of Florida Audubon, but its hard to guess how that will play out. Most of those are pretty good projects. But the House is going to negotiate hard. State Rep. Debbie Mayfield, R-Vero Beach, agreed. Obviously theres going to be a fight on the House side to get all the money needed for lagoon projects, including the initiatives from Senator Negrons committee, Mayfield said. I think a majority of it will get through. It will be a matter of prioritizing projects based on the amount of money thats approved. As one of 120 House members, Ill advocate to get Senator Negrons initiatives in the budget. Those of us who live along the lagoon know they need to be done. Negron is counting on his experience in the House, where he was a member from 2000 to 2006, to help him there. But he admits its an uphill fight. Probably not all our projects will get funded in the House version (of the budget), Negron said. There are other priorities. There are people who will say this is not as important as education, road building, social services and building prisons. But this package, this is my priority. All these projects are needed, and I want a checkmark next to every one of them. Draper said he expects the Senate to have about $250 million in water projects in its version of the budget. I think the Senate is set to fund most of the committees recommendations, he said. The House version of the budget, Draper predicted, will have less than $200 million for water projects and will be focused on $5 (million) to $10 million projects members want for their home districts. MUCK REMOVAL IS IN The lagoon project that may be the easiest to get in the budget may be one of the last ones added to the Negron committees list: $20 million to dredge muck out of the lagoon in Brevard County. It just so happens Brevard is represented by State Sen. Thad Altman, R-Rockledge, a member of Negrons committee who recommended the project; state Rep. Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, who will be Senate president in 2015; and Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, who will be House speaker in 2015. But the environmental damage done to the lagoon and estuary has become more than a legislators pet project. Theres been an expression of concern for our community, for what weve gone through because of the discharges, that Ive heard from all over Florida, Negron said. The Internet has helped with that. Legislators in the Panhandle know about whats going on in the Indian River Lagoon because they read about it on TCPalm. By the same token, I know whats going on in the Panhandle because I can read about it online. The serious horse trading is expected to come in the conference committee, the panel of legislators assigned to merge the House and Senate versions of the budget. Altman, whos district includes part of northern Indian River County, expects a lot of back and forth between the House and Senate, but we should come out of it with a package for the lagoon. Draper said it doesnt hurt that Negron is chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. When the budget chairman wants something thats not on your list, you make a trade for it, he said. Theres no telling what the trade would be for: It could be gambling, it could be a part of the governors tax break plan. Dont be surprised, Draper added, if some previously unaccounted for money shows up in the middle of the session. Its a typical trick by budget planners to squirrel away some money and suddenly reveal it. Rather than take money from lagoon projects, Negron said he would prefer making cuts in what he called soft services, programs where the government gives people advice on, for instance, how to get jobs. Thats the kind of services that should be done by nonprofit agencies. He said hes also take a hard look at cutting economic development programs. Although he didnt mention Digital Domain, the failed Port St. Lucie movie animation studio that received $20 million in state incentives, Negron said, Florida shouldnt be the Goldman Sachs of new economic ventures. Negron said Scott already has identified savings of $50 million to $70 million by leaving unfilled jobs open and other efficiencies. That right there is about half the money were seeking for the lagoon, he said. It will be a matter of prioritizing projects based on the amount of money thats approved. Rep. Debbie Mayfield, R-Vero Beach Supporters of the Indian River Lagoon gather at Phipps Park in Stuart on Nov. 9 to show solidarity and tell the Army Corps of Engineers to keep the St. Lucie Lock and Dam closed. FILE PHOTO
Posted on: Sun, 02 Mar 2014 10:26:35 +0000
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