Lakeland's Kelli Stargel named to lead budget role in Florida Senate
Republican named Appropriations Chair in Fla. Senate
LAKELAND — Polk County has a rich history of producing elected officials who exercise outsized influence over the Florida Legislature.
Going back decades, Spessard Holland of Bartow and Lawton Chiles of Lakeland emerged as prominent state legislators before eventually becoming governors. More recently, J.D. Alexander of Lake Wales led the Florida Senate’s Appropriations Committee, a position that allowed him to shepherd passage of a contentious bill in 2012 establishing Florida Polytechnic University in Lakeland as an autonomous entity.
Key Issue:Pandemic prompting Florida leaders to look to online sales for tax cash
Rep. Seth McKeel of Lakeland rose to become House Appropriations Chair in 2012.
Now it’s Kelli Stargel’s turn. Newly elected Senate President Wilton Simpson, himself a Lakeland native, appointed the Lakeland Republican on Friday as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee for the 2020-2022 term.
“I have served with Senator Stargel throughout my entire time here in the Senate and have witnessed her ability to effectively manage complex policy and budget issues,” Simpson, a Republican from Trilby in Pasco County, wrote in a memo Friday to fellow senators. “She will be a key member of the Senate leadership and will work to ensure all Senators have the opportunity to play a role in drafting our state budget.”
Stargel was first elected to the Florida House in 2008, succeeding her husband, John Stargel, now a judge with the 10th Judicial Circuit. She gained election to the state Senate in 2012 and now enters her final two years because of term limits.
Kelli Stargel, 54, has held increasingly powerful positions related to budgets since her first term in the Senate, when she was appointed vice chair of the Education Appropriations Subcommittee. She later chaired the Finance and Tax Appropriations Subcommittee and was vice chair of the Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee.
In the last session, Stargel served as chair of the Education Appropriations Subcommittee. Money for education amounts to more than half of the annual state budget, she said.
“So I’ve been working in the appropriations arena for the last few years,” Stargel said Monday. “It’s something that I think is a vitally important position, and I’m looking forward to doing it.”
The appropriations chair oversees all budget planning during the session. Stargel said leaders of the various committees will consult with her before completing their respective budgets.
The appropriations chair then reviews all of the committee submissions and works with the House appropriations chair to finalize a budget. Florida’s constitution requires that the budget not exceed revenue.
Newly elected House Speaker Chris Sprowls appointed Rep. Jay Trumbull, R-Panama City, as chair of the House Appropriations Committee. Stargel said she has worked with Trumbull “on several occasions.”
COVID-19 creates major shortfall
Stargel assumes the prominent role at a time when state finances have been wracked by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In his memo to fellow senators announcing Stargel’s appointment, Simpson said Florida is facing a shortfall of $5.4 billion in projected revenue over the next two years.
The Legislature will likely be forced to slash spending on many programs in the 2021 session, which begins March 2 and runs for two months.
“I think during these times, it’s even more critical that you have somebody who’s going to look at every aspect of the budget and do those deep dives and make sure we’re funding those things that are core functions of government and the most appropriate,” Stargel said.
She was in the Florida House when the Legislature grappled with dramatic declines in revenue as the crash of the housing and financial sectors spawned the Great Recession. She said the prospect isn’t quite the same for 2021.
While the Great Recession devastated the economy at large, Stargel said some segments of Florida’s economy are doing well amid the pandemic. Housing sales remain strong, yielding an increase in state revenue through documentary stamp taxes imposed on the recording of official records.
“Oddly enough, talking to different retailers, things like bicycle sales were up,” Stargel said. “Some things were up, and some things were down. It’s not like last time. We all know restaurant and tourism is down, but then other areas are doing well. It’s not a simple formula, and so when it comes to funding remedies we’re going to plan for the worst and hope for the best.”
During the previous few sessions, the Florida Legislature could draw upon healthy revenue to allot money for projects that might not have seemed essential. Gov. Ron DeSantis last June signed a $92.2 billion budget, vetoing about $1 billion appropriated by lawmakers.
“I’m looking forward to talking to other senators, figuring out what are really the core functions of government,” Stargel said. “We’re going to make sure to fund those. Some of the things that had been nice to do over the last few years — we’ve had the funding and we’ve been able to do some beneficial things. But if it’s not a core function of government, it’s going to be something potentially that’s not able to be funded.”
Stargel listed what she considers the essential areas of government funding as education, health care, infrastructure, court systems and protecting the most vulnerable citizens.
Simpson has expressed support for one change that could boost Florida’s revenue — requiring residents to pay sales tax for online purchases. Florida is one of two states with sales taxes that use an “honor system” for online transactions, a policy that costs the state an estimated $480 million a year.
Though Republicans generally shun any action that could be seen as a tax increase, Stargel said she favors requiring payment of taxes that Floridians are already supposed to pay voluntarily.
“So if we could pass this legislation, it would, A, make it easier on consumers to actually pay their owed taxes, and it also makes sure there’s a consistent playing field for all our retailers, that they all have the same set of rules when it comes to paying the state sales tax,” she said.
Toll roads a no-go?
One project certain to face budget scrutiny is the plan to build three toll roads in Florida, including one stretching from Polk County to Collier County. Stargel and all the other Polk County legislators voted for a bill in the 2019 session allocating more than $100 million a year for the project, officially known as Multi-use Corridors of Regional Economic Significance, or M-CORES.
The proposal to build highways through some of Florida’s most rural counties, a major priority of former Senate President Bill Galvano, has drawn strenuous opposition from environmental groups. Does Stargel expect the Legislature to provide money for roads in the 2021 budget?
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“I think we’re going to look at them and find out if these roads are necessities, if they’re really helping move people around in a way that’s most beneficial,” she said. “That’s the case with all our road projects.”
She added: “A lot of things are very beneficial and worth doing if you can afford them. But when you can’t afford them, you’ve got to take a deep dive and prioritize. All budgets are about priorities, and right now we’re going to have to look at everything and decide, ‘Is this the right time? Is this the right project?’ ”
Rep. Randy Fine, R-Palm Bay, introduced a bill in the last session to give the University of Florida control of Florida Polytechnic University and New College of Florida in Sarasota. The legislation stalled amid opposition from leaders of Florida Poly and others.
Fine said that the mergers would reduce costs and save the state money. But Stargel doesn’t seem inclined to support such legislation if it returns next spring.
“That’s something I wouldn’t be in favor of,” she said. “I think Florida Poly has done a great job. I think they fill a unique role, and part of the reason we worked to create Florida Poly was the way in which their operating would be done better than under a large university.”
Among other Polk legislators, Rep. Colleen Burton, R-Lakeland, has been appointed chair of the House Health and Human Services Committee. No other committee assignments have been announced yet.
Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on Twitter @garywhite13.