An estimated $12.2 billion in federal stimulus funding will help Florida patch up some of the holes in its state budget and put thousands of Floridians to work. That was the message from Gov. Charlie Crist (R) when he hailed the passage of the federal stimulus bill in mid-February. He announced his $66.5-billion 2009-10 budget on Feb. 20.
The stimulus will add some $4.7 billion in revenue for 2009-10, effectively reducing the budget cuts that had been widely expected, according to the governor’s office. The state Legislature had held a special session in which it cut $2.5 billion to close a gap in the current year’s budget. In the past two years, the state had cut some $7 billion from its budget. Now, some $3.2 billion in stimulus funding will be used in the current fiscal year.