Review of Federal Funding to Florida - Office of Economic ...

Office of Economic and Demographic Research
4. Summary
Using the same methodology applied in Table 1-7, Table 1-11 on page 27 assesses how individual
states did in their fiscal relationship with the federal government with respect to the various types of
other financial assistance offered to states.
While Florida recorded 6.1 percent of the national population, it recorded 27.0 percent of total other
financial assistance. Due to the effect of federal flood insurance, Florida’s proportional share for
insurance programs at 36.8 percent was greater than the 6.1 percent average; however, the state’s
proportional shares for guaranteed loans at 4.5 percent and for direct loans at 4.0 percent were less
than its share of the national population.
F. Conclusion
Federal direct expenditures represent either actual expenditures or obligations of the federal
government to this state. By contrast, the reported amounts of other financial assistance reflect the
contingent liability of the federal government via the face value of insurance coverage and the dollar
volume of loans made.
Florida had high per capita expenditures for federal direct payments for individuals when compared
to the national average. This was due primarily to the state’s large retiree and elderly populations.
However, in the remaining categories of federal direct expenditure (i.e., grants, procurement
contracts, and salaries and wages), Florida had per capita expenditures that were considerably lower
than the national average.
The allocation of federal financial assistance has significant impacts on the finances of state and
local governments. Since numerous federal policies govern the distribution of federal funding to
states, future policy changes will likely affect individual states quite differently. Knowing the
magnitude of such financial assistance to Florida should be useful to policy makers as they evaluate
strategies for increasing the state’s share of federal funding.
12 Review of Federal Funding to Florida in Fiscal Year 2009