Budget strong for health, education
With the opening of the 2010 Legislative Session a few weeks away, Gov. Charlie Crist recently released his proposed budget for the fiscal year 2010-2011. The total amount the governor proposes the state spend for next year is $69.2 billion, an increase over the $66 billion allocated for the current fiscal year.
When I first took office in 2006, our state budget was $73 billion; however the economic turmoil over the last few years has certainly taken its toll. Out of the major policy areas, the breakdown is as follows for "The People's Budget": 3.1 percent allocated to environment, 2.6 percent allocated to general government, 0.6 percent allocated to the legislature/governor, 7.5 percent allocated to public safety, and 14.1 percent allocated for transportation and economic development.
The governor's proposed budget requests an allocation of $21.5 billion for education (31.1 percent of his budget proposal) and $28.4 billion for health and human services (41.1 percent of his budget proposal). As you can see, 72.2 percent of next year's budget as proposed by the governor is for the state's two core missions.
The governor's budget outlines his paramount concerns about ensuring Floridians are finding gainful employment and striving to make businesses stronger. The governor is proposing a 1 percent reduction on the corporate income tax rate on the first $1 million of a corporation's taxable income while also providing for a 10-day back-to-school sales tax holiday as in previous years. This tax holiday, according to the governor, will help Florida's families save on school essentials such as clothing and supplies, while also stimulating the economy.
The governor's proposed budget places a strong emphasis on funding education, with an estimated $22.7 billion to be allocated for PreK-12 education and a 2.61 percent increase for public per-student funding. He is also calling for increased funding for community colleges and universities. His budget also calls for continued funding for the continued steady decrease of Florida's prison population, while also looking to preserve Florida's abundant natural resources.
His optimism about Florida's economic future is one to admire, and I commend him for his continued dedication to education and health and human services. While his budget is certainly fiscally optimistic, we in the Florida House must continue to focus our concentrated efforts on ensuring the budget is balanced fairly and properly the first time in order to prevent any mid-year alterations to the budget.
—State Representative Bryan Nelson, District 38
No access to spirituality
Older people do not have access to religion when they need it the most. Whereas Christian residents of nursing and assisted living facilities can attend weekly chapel services, Jewish residents are unlikely to receive any religious opportunities. When they want to pray or discuss religious issues who can they turn to? They may be facing life and death issues or grappling with relationships gone awry, personal secrets and other issues related to the latter stages of life.
In the Jewish community, few people who have been members of a congregation throughout their lives continue their membership payments while living in long-term care facilities. As a result, they are unlikely to receive visits from the rabbi or the Social Action Committee. In many cases, they feel totally abandoned by the Jewish community.
The Jewish Pavilion offers a unique service to our elders living in nursing facilities. Pavilion staff and volunteers visit 300 Jewish seniors in the Orlando area who reside in 44 long-term care facilities. The agency also provides intergenerational musical celebrations, holiday and Sabbath festivities for residents of all faiths.
What is so exciting about the Jewish Pavilion's outreach efforts is that seniors are served no matter where they reside. Other faith communities could easily adopt this model of care. Because volunteers provide the bulk of the service, it is a very inexpensive way to enhance the lives of thousands of our elders. Visit www.jewishpavilion.org for more information.
—Nancy Ludin, Jewish Pavilion executive director