BONITA SPRINGS – Orange juice advertising will take a $900,000 hit in the Florida Department of Citrus' 2011-12 budget as a result of Gov. Rick Scott's veto of a $2 million appropriation in next year's state budget.
The Florida Citrus Commission on Wednesday approved a $54.8 million department budget that includes $10 million for citrus disease research, the biggest program outside marketing. The commission is the Citrus Department's governing body.
The Citrus Department budget is $2.2 million higher than a 2011-12 budget proposed at the May 18 Citrus Commission meeting. The difference stems from more carry-over money available from the current department and foundation budgets, said Debra Funkhouser, Citrus Department comptroller.
The new budget would put the department's 2011-12 tax rates at 23 cents per box for juice oranges (95 percent of the Florida orange crop), 34 cents per box for all grapefruit, 7 cents for fresh oranges and 16 cents for fresh tangerines and tangelos. That represents a cut of 2 cents over all varieties from the current tax rates.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: The Ledger
