State economists today lowered Florida's two-year revenue estimate by $2.9 billion because of the recession-stricken slump in tax collections.
House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-West Miami, said the situation is a symptom of a nationwide economic slump -- not a state budget crisis. The House is set to vote tomorrow on a budget-cut bill to keep current state spending in balance with declining revenues.
Gov. Charlie Crist said the state will cope -- without tax increases. Crist said the state has to do what families do when times are tough, cut spending and dip into reserves.
The 20-member revenue estimating conference, made up of economic experts from the Legislature and executive branch, revised downward its mid-November estimate by $1 billion for the current fiscal year and $1.9 billion for the year starting July 1. The planners cited continued tightening of credit markets, soaring energy prices, falling employment and continued deterioration of the housing market.
Amy Baker, coordinator of the state economic conference, said no pick-up in tax collections is expected until late in the 2008-09 fiscal year. It will be fiscal 2010-11 before Florida's tax collections are expected to return to their 2005-06 levels, when construction was booming after four hurricanes in each of two years.
State economic experts are making a gloomy forecast for Florida's revenue outlook today.
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