TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida TaxWatch (FTW) today announced the winners of the 2019 TaxWatch Productivity Awards (TPA), which is celebrating 30 years of recognizing and rewarding the dedication and hard work of state employees who find ways to improve services, increase efficiencies and save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars each year. The awards program is presented by Kyra Solutions, Inc.
The Space Coast of Florida was once the center of the universe; however, since the historic mission fifty years ago, the region has gone through significant change.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) along with elected leaders from Leon County and the City of Tallahassee highlighted the need for community participation in the 2020 Census. As the third largest and fourth fastest growing state in the country, the upcoming Federal Census count will be more important to the Sunshine State than nearly any other state. Federal grant programs distribute $700 billion using census data. If Florida is under-represented by the count, it could cost the state millions, or even billions, of dollars. Florida’s state and local officials need to immediately start ensuring the accuracy of the count by participating in existing intergovernmental processes to verify addresses and residences.
The following statement is to be attributed to Florida TaxWatch President and CEO Dominic M. Calabro, relating to today’s release of Governor DeSantis’ Budget Vetoes.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) released the Budget Turkey Watch Report, its annual independent review of the state’s FY2019-20 budget. The report promotes additional oversight and integrity in Florida’s budgeting process and is based on the principle that because money appropriated by the Legislature belongs to the taxpayers of Florida, the process must be transparent and accountable, and every appropriation should receive proper deliberation and public debate.
T he 2019 Budget Turkey Watch Report: An Analysis of the Transparency and Accountability of the Budget Process is the result of an annual independent review of Florida’s new budget by Florida TaxWatch. The report started in 1983, and having been published annually since 1986, promotes additional oversight and integrity in the state’s budgeting process based on the principle that: because money appropriated by the Legislature belongs to the taxpayers of Florida, the process must be transparent and accountable, and every appropriation should receive deliberation and public debate. The budget review identifies appropriations that circumvent transparency and accountability standards in public budgeting.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, in honor of the TaxWatch Productivity Awards (TPA) program’s 30 th year, a Cabinet Resolution, sponsored by Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, officially designated July 2019 as “TaxWatch Productivity Awards Recognition Month.”
Distributed to the Bond Oversight Committee on June 3, 2019, this report examines the SMART program quarterly report for Q3 of FY2019.
ORLANDO, Fla. – On Thursday, May 23, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) recognized nine of Florida’s most effective leaders in high-risk K-12 public schools during the 2018-19 Principal Leadership Awards (PLA) Dinner in Orlando. Three principals, one selected from each category (elementary, middle and high school) took home top honors. Florida TaxWatch established the PLA program in 2013, to recognize and reward the work of principals, and promote their unique practices throughout the state.
Thanks to a Museum for America Collection Stewardship Grant from the Institute for Museums and Library Services , Gadsden Arts has completed the final step in the Community Connections Project , a renovation and expansion of our facilities to better serve our mission. READ MORE
The 2019 Florida Legislative Session is over. Lawmakers approved 197 bills this year, setting a record for the fewest bills passed (at least since 2001, and likely long before that). The amount of bills passed has been steadily declining. This is probably a good thing, but it also reflects the use of “trains,” strike-all amendments, and adding brand new issues to bills at the last minute, things that certainly occurred this year. Still, there was some good legislation that passed and, as always, some missed opportunities and some great ideas that became less so as the process wore on.
On Thursday, May 2, the Senate took up the tax package passed by the House (HB 7123) and adopted a strike-all amendment that put the Senate package on the bill. It kept many of the provisions (with some changes), added some new provisions, and removed one controversial provision, and changed another.
The following statement is to be attributed to Dominic M. Calabro, Florida TaxWatch President and CEO, relating to the Halifax Hospital Taxing District Legislation.
Florida TaxWatch President and CEO Dominic M. Calabro released the following statement regarding Senator Jeff Brandes’ Florida First Step Act –
Year after year, families across the nation and the world choose Florida as their top vacation destination. As the Sunshine State, it is not hard to see why. When you consider tourist attractions like Miami Beach, Walt Disney World, Clearwater, the World Golf Hall of Fame, the Florida Keys, Universal Studios and Sea World, not to mention an expanding economy with a steady supply of jobs, Florida seems to have it all.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – On Sunday, April 14, Floridians will celebrate the first day of the year where taxpayers are finally earning money for themselves and not for the tax collector. Taxpayer Independence Day, calculated by Florida TaxWatch, accepts that every dollar earned since January 1 goes to pay federal, state, and local obligations. This year, it will take the average Florida family 103 out of 365 days – or almost three and a half months – to satisfy its tax obligations. Looking at it another way, it takes two hours and 15 minutes of every eight-hour workday to earn enough to pay your taxes.
On Sunday, April 14, Florida TaxWatch joins the taxpayers in our state in celebrating Florida Taxpayer Independence Day 2019. On that day, Floridians are finally earning money for themselves–not for the tax collector. This symbolic date assumes that every dollar earned since January 1 goes to pay federal, state, and local tax obligations.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida’s premier, independent government watchdog of forty years, Florida TaxWatch, has released a new research report about the state’s affordable housing crisis. In the Sunshine State, there are only 26 affordable and available housing units for every 100 “extremely low-income” renter households. This is the sixth-smallest percentage of available units in the nation and well below the national average of 36 percent.
There is an affordable housing crisis in Florida. It is truly a nationwide problem, but it is especially acute in the Sunshine State. The availability of affordable housing for lower-income families in Florida is lower than almost all other states, and most of those at the lower end of the income scale that do have places to live are overburdened with housing costs they cannot afford.
At the halfway mark of the 2019 Legislative Session, the House and Senate approved their proposed state budgets for FY2019-20. Both spending plans exceed current spending—the Senate by more than $1.0 billion and the House by $588.4 million. The House increases current General Revenue (GR) spending by $609.5 million (1.9 percent), while the Senate increases GR by $841.2 million (2.6 percent).
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