Gov. Scott: Spending, Tax Cuts Will Balance Budget

AP Photo

Gov. Rick Scott has unveiled his long-anticipated budget. He wants to wield a heavy axe to chop Florida's multi-billion dollar budget shortfall - with no new taxes.

The new governor took the stage at a church in Eustis to a friendly crowd - after hosting a private lunch for local tea party activists. Scott announced $2 billion in tax cuts and $5 billion in spending cuts over two years. He wants to eliminate nearly 9,000 state positions and chop Medicaid by $4 billion over two years.

Programs that would be most affected are the state growth management agency program and the Department of Corrections. The money saved, he says, would attract new jobs.

"This jobs budget is going to devote significant resources - $800 million dollars over two years - for economic development projects," he says. "And incentives that develop private sector jobs, and particularly promising ventures."

Scott wants to complete phase out business taxes in seven years. But now comes the hard part - the governor will have to get together with state legislators to hash out a politically palatable compromise.

Click here to view the governor's proposed budget. And click here for a copy of his speech.