FW Rank: 9

1992 Rank: 10

Population: 13.3 million

Moody's bond rating: Aa

Standard & Poor's bond rating: AA

Governor: Lawton Chiles, Democrat

Legislature: Democratic majority in House; split Senate

-- Ranking pluses: Very good long-term planning; strategic planning at both the state and agency level; general fund balances growing, reversing erosion in recent years; very good program evaluations; developing performance measurement system; excellent infrastructure controls.

-- Ranking minuses: Revenue estimating problems in fiscal 1992; some dependence on one-time measures to achieve budgetary balance; Medicaid spending substantially overestimated over two years due to computer snafu; comprehensive annual financial report is qualified.

-- Comments: Fiscal problems waning as state's revenue collections have bounced back. Rebuilding efforts after Hurricane Andrew have resulted in a windfall of several hundred million dollars in sales tax. Senate nixed governor's recommendations for about $291 million in new taxes for fiscal 1994. At press time, Governor Chiles was still hoping for twenty-five cent cigarette tax to fund more prison beds. Constitutional amendment on budget reform passed in November, requiring the state to institute a performance measurement system, but details are still up in the air. Chiles has a fairly low popularity rating - citizens' expectations for reform have not yet been met, according to an analyst at Florida Tax Watch.

Source: "The State of the States," Financial World Magazine, May 11, 1993 (Vol. 161, No. 10); New York, NY.