Florida budget hoards $1B

The 2013 Florida budget is expected to have something not seen in several years: Nearly $1 billion worth of reserves.

The annual budget forecast, released earlier this week by state economists, shows the state believes it will have enough money to cover health care and public school obligations, according to the Associated Press. The AP story, released today, says there will then be a reserve fund of about $1 billion. Budget analysts will present the forecast to legislators next week.

The past few annual state budgets, given the recession, have been dominated by shortfalls, not reserves. In fact, a $4 billion shortfall in 2011 led to layoffs and salary cuts within dozens of state government offices. Other widely publicized cuts in previous budgets include large hits to the state higher education system.

State budget officials, however, say the economy is slowly recovering, which should put an end to shortfalls, at least for now. State legislators use the forecast in writing the official budget, which they are scheduled to do in March.