Governor Scott issued a statement that asks agencies to identify their critical needs in case the Florida Senate and House cannot come to agreement on a state budget by July 1st. He blamed a possible government shutdown on the Senate and their push to expand Medicaid. From the Tampa Bay Times:
Scott’s order puts agencies in the unwelcome position of deciding which services are critical and which are not.
For example, are state parks a critical service?
Probably not based on past state priorities, and they would likely be barricaded with no budget.
But what about restaurant safety inspections? Auto tag renewals? Road and bridge repairs?
By sounding the alarm of a shutdown, Scott may be trying to rally Floridians to support the view he shares with the House that a debate on health care must take a back seat to a more urgent matter of passing a budget.
But Scott could also be seen as calling out his fellow Republicans for behaving irresponsibly. Talk of a shutdown could heighten a public sense of dysfunction in a state government controlled by Republicans at all levels.
