Governor’s budget plan holds $15 million for Keys

The Florida Keys would receive $15 million in dedicated state money under Gov. Rick Scott’s proposed budget for the 2017-18 fiscal year, released Tuesday.

That includes an annual appropriation of $5 million of Florida Forever money allocated for purchases of Keys conservation land under the Florida Keys Stewardship Act, along with $10 million toward Monroe County “water projects” that deal with canal restoration, stormwater runoff or sewer work.

“That’s very exciting stuff,” said state Rep. Holly Raschein (R-Key Largo). “That’s a line item in the budget just for the Keys, so it’s a great way to kick off the budget sessions.”

Scott has proposed an overall state budget of $83.5 billion, “which is just over 1 percent above the current $82.3 billion budget,” says a fact sheet from the Governor’s Office.

The Florida Legislature actually writes the state budget but often uses the governor’s proposal as a starting point.

In the two-month 2017 legislative session beginning March 7, Raschein will chair the state House of Representatives’ Natural Resources and Public Lands Subcommittee and has a seat on the House Appropriations Committee, in addition to other committee assignments.

She so far has filed two bills as lead sponsor and has slots for four additional bills.

Raschein introduced HB 463, intended to reduce taxes on small businesses that lease office or workspace.

“They’re already paying property taxes through their rent and also being double-taxed on utility bills and other items,” Raschein said Tuesday. “It’s a tax on a tax.”

Several statewide chambers of commerce and real-estate associations support the bill, she said.

Raschein’s HB 397 seeks to further protect the identities of state workers who file sexual-harassment complaints.

A quirk in existing regulations allow a harassment victim’s identity to remain confidential if the complaint is filed against a superior, but not if it is filed against a co-worker, Raschein said.

“I was approached by the Governor’s Office on this, so it’s a priority of the governor,” Raschein said. “It’s about doing the right thing.”

Raschein is co-sponsor of HB 141, which eases some restrictions on the capacity and bottles sold for craft distilleries of alcoholic beverages.

“We do have craft distilleries in Key West and they would benefit from this, along with other tourism communities,” Raschein said. The co-sponsorship will not affect her House limit of six introduced bills.

This story was originally published February 1, 2017 at 9:49 AM with the headline "Governor’s budget plan holds $15 million for Keys."