Dear Friends,

The legislative session is now over, and I would like to take this opportunity to let you know about what we accomplished over the past few months. As you know, prior to session, there had been a lot of talk about cuts to education and the need for a major tax increase to save our schools. I am happy to report that this did not happen. In the coming budget year, per student spending—money spent in the classroom—will stay the same as last year. We were able to accomplish this by meeting the objectives I laid out at the start of session. First, we made use of the federal stimulus money for education—after all, this is money that Floridians have already paid for in taxes. Second, we gave schools more flexibility to determine how they spend their money. For example, instead of using money for constructing new schools when there are now fewer students, some of these funds can now be used to pay our teachers and to meet classroom needs. Third and finally, we authorized the compact with the Seminole Indians that would formally allow gambling that already exists in our state so that we will not have to ask for additional sacrifices from taxpayers.

In total, our budget was $66 billion, down from a high of $74 billion just two years ago. Of the $66 billion, $63 billion came from our state budget and another $3 billion came from Washington, D.C. In addition to protecting education and healthcare, we focused on increasing transparency so that your government is more accountable to you, especially in the ways it spends your hard earned money. This year, we made needed reforms by placing our entire budget online, which will be available to you in June so that you can make suggestions on how we can better spend your tax dollars. We also reduced the amount of taxpayer dollars that will be spent on the political campaigns of statewide candidates.  Voters will also have the opportunity to end public financing of these campaigns completely with a proposed constitutional amendment on the 2010 ballot.

Our Florida budget is a reflection of the Florida economy. I know that you cannot afford to pay more in taxes, and that it is our responsibility to tighten our belt and to not ask for additional sacrifices from you. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you in the Florida Senate. If you need to contact me, or if I can be of service, always feel free to send me an email at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or call me at (321) 752-3131.