Final Status of FCCB Budget Priorities at Conclusion of Session

Pregnancy Support Services - Catholic Days at the Capitol Issue: Despite a failure to pass a bill adding the Florida Pregnancy Care Network to statute, funding for this network of pregnancy help centers remains at its current level. $4 million is allocated in the budget to provide services such as counseling, referrals, material support, training, and pregnancy and childbirth education to pregnant mothers as they prepare to parent or place their babies for adoption. FCCB has been supportive of the program since its inception in 2005.

Criminal Justice Reform Task Force - Catholic Days at the Capitol Issue: Despite the inability to pass legislation to establish a task force, $300,000 is in the budget to fund criminal justice reform research. Rather than continuing to address criminal justice measures each year in a piecemeal fashion, FCCB supports a comprehensive review of Florida's criminal justice systems. 

Affordable Housing Trust Fund: The legislature has appropriated $137 million of affordable housing trust fund dollars. $154.4 million of available housing funds was swept to general revenue. However, additional affordable housing dollars are included in other areas of the budget, bringing total available funding to $250 million. The FCCB has long supported full funding of housing trust funds to assist vulnerable populations with housing needs. 

Nursing Home Prospective Payment System (PPS): The legislature approved, but delayed implementation by one year, an FCCB opposed proposal that redistributes funds among nursing homes resulting in a disproportionate negative impact on higher quality, more efficient homes. A task force will be created to develop recommendations for the 2018 legislature regarding the design of the PPS model. The delay and the task force leave opportunity to propose remedies before implementation.

Hospital Reimbursement: Lawmakers cut $250 million in recurring general revenue for hospital Medicaid payments, with legislators agreeing to reduce those cuts by $50 million for the upcoming year only. Because state dollars are matched by federal Medicaid dollars, the cuts amount to a $520 million reduction in hospital payments. Medicaid funding contributes significantly to the system delivering care to all Floridians.

Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK): The VPK scholarship amount for the school-year program remains funded at the current level of $2,437 per child.