May 14, 2008
Linda Kleindienst, Tallahassee Bureau Chief
Sun-Sentinel.com

It was a tight budget year for the state, but when Palm Beach County legislators finished their work they had earmarked a substantial amount of cash to bring home. If you want to take a look at what they tucked into the $66.2 billion state budget this spring, check out the list of projects on the House of Representatives’ website.

Of course, it’s not too fancy this year because of the state’s budget crunch. The budget set to take effect on July 1 is about $7 billion less than the budget legislators passed last spring. Road projects are getting the bulk of the funds but you’ll also find a lot earmarked for Florida Atlantic University.

Not on that list, but included in the budget, is $50 million to continue the Everglades clean-up project with the federal government. You can thank House Majority Leader Adam Hasner, R-Boca Raton, for that. He hounded reluctant House leaders to find the money.

But don’t take this year’s money to the bank yet. Gov. Charlie Crist still has time to wield his veto pen. Last year he whacked a record number of legislators’ projects - $459 million.

There’s some speculation that Crist might attack the appropriations bill again to build up state reserves, just to have some handy cash in case the economy takes a worse dip than expected. The governor said toward the end of session he wouldn’t be likely to do that, but nothing’s sacred in politics.