Florida has its first budget surplus since the recession began, and that's good news for social services programs. Most have lost funding, and some didn't survive the downturn, but many did better in the 2013-2014 budget. Some projects fell to Governor Rick Scott's veto pen.
Representative Mike Fasano was upset by Scott's veto of $1.3 million for Metropolitan Ministries' transition housing program for homeless families in Pasco County. Fasano doesn't buy Scott's veto message saying he rejected the project because it hadn't shown a way to be measured and evaluated.
"For the governor to say that is a bunch of hogwash, because I was the lead person in Tallahassee on the project, "Fasano said. "And I did not get a call from the governor's office asking for a better explanation or understanding as to how this was going to help the families."
Scott kept in the budget new dollars to prevent child abuse and serve people with disabilities and victims of sexual violence. The Guardian ad Litem program was a big winner with nearly $4 million to increase volunteers to represent dependent children in court.