A Message from the FLA Legislative Committee
The Special Session began on Monday to take up three issues: The Budget, Health Care and Tax Relief. FLA is watching the budget process closely and working hard to protect library funding. The Budget conference process is expected to begin Friday afternoon – and maybe as early as Thursday.
House and Senate leadership has not yet named the budget conferees and they have not given the appropriations subcommittees their allocations, the amounts they have to fund the program areas for which they’re responsible.
Here is the status of library funding in the appropriations bills the House and Senate approved during the regular session.
- State Aid to Public Libraries – Both Houses approved $22,298,834, a reduction of $5,110,989 from the current year’s $27,409,823.
- Library Cooperative Grants – The Senate provided $2 million, the amount required to fund each of the 5 Multitype Library Cooperatives at the full $400,000 authorized by statute and the House provided $1.7 million.
- Public Library Construction – The House provided $2 million, the amount necessary to fund all 4 projects on the Department of State’s list and the Senate provided $3 million, funding all of the list projects and $1 million for the Eastlake Community Library.
Here’s what you can do now. Call or email your legislator with this message:
Thank you for supporting Florida libraries! Please fund State Aid to Public Libraries at the current year’s $27,409,823, not the $22,298,834 in the Senate and House budgets. This amounts to a 19% reduction. Fund the Library Cooperative Grant Program at $2 million, the amount in the Senate budget and fund Public Library Construction at the Senate’s $3 million.
Urge them to support these positions and ask them to ask the Transportation and Economic Development Committee Conferees to do the same. And please share this message with libraries advocates throughout Florida.
You can also use FLA’s Engage site to get messages to the legislators and the Governor. Click here Engage .
Please remember to keep your messages and communications positive – it makes a difference!
Thank you for your advocacy for Florida libraries!
– The FLA Legislative Committee