Florida Gov. Ron Desantis vetoed about $810 million in line-item funding requests from the state budget for the next fiscal year on Monday, including hundreds of thousands of dollars requested for local initiatives to promote better senior health, combat food deserts, and fund a youth conflict resolution program at the University of Central Florida.
“This budget protects taxpayers’ interests, cuts spending for the fourth year in a row, and makes meaningful investments to build on Florida’s successes in education, public safety, environmental conservation, infrastructure, cancer research, and more,” DeSantis shared in a statement. “I’m proud that Florida continues to serve as the prime example of fiscal responsibility and government that works for the people of our state.”
DeSantis signed the $117.6 billion budget into law — his fourth and last, as a term-limited governor — at Hillsborough State College in Tampa, finalizing a state spending plan for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
The state budget includes funding for state departments overseeing the state’s education system, public safety, healthcare, environmental conservation, infrastructure and workforce development.
But outside the bare bones of the budget, state lawmakers in the Florida House and Senate also have the opportunity to submit state appropriation requests to help fund local, regional or statewide initiatives.
Cut by the veto pen
Florida Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, told Orlando Weekly six out of 10 of her requests were vetoed by the governor this year, including a requested $150,000 for a youth summer arts program, $400,000 for a program to provide mentoring and educational opportunities for small businesses, and $200,000 for the Samaritan Resource Center, a drop-in facility and important resource for the homeless in east Orlando.
“One of our projects that did survive the veto pen that we are very proud of is Share the Care, a local nonprofit that provides support and respite for caregivers,” Eskamani said in an email. “We secured $500,000 for their expansion plans.”
Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, said 13 of his 16 spending requests were similarly vetoed, including $170,000 in requested funds to address food insecurity in Central Florida’s food deserts, $100,000 for a financial literacy program for underserved communities, $450,000 for a video series project intended to uplift success stories of resilience in people with autism, and $99,000 for federally certified flight simulators and instruction for Colonial High School, offering students the opportunity to complete their Federal Aviation Authority Private Pilot Certificate while still in high school.
“At this time the Governor has not shared any insight behind the decision to veto these specific projects, nor do I anticipate we will ever receive clear, item-specific reasoning,” an aide for Sen. Smith’s office told Orlando Weekly over email.
“The Governor has not shared any insight behind the decision to veto these specific projects.”
A legislative aide for Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith
Sen. Smith did have several funding projects approved, however, including $150,000 to help support survivors of sexual trauma through the nonprofit She’s Thankful, $5 million for a workforce entrepreneurship program at UCF, and $350,000 for an emergency response equipment upgrade project for the Belle Isle Police Department.
“The fact that Governor Ron DeSantis vetoed 13 projects from our office worth $2,998,500 for our region should come as no surprise. The governor has openly admitted to using his veto authority to seek political retribution against those who oppose his extreme agenda, which I have consistently done as the Senator for District 17,” Smith told the Weekly in an emailed statement.
“His politically motivated actions in NO WAY reflect my support for these projects,” he added. “Luckily, Florida voters will have the opportunity to elect a new governor this November that puts people over politics.”
First elected Florida governor in 2018, DeSantis touted this year’s budget as the “fourth consecutive year of a budget reduction,” further highlighting the reduction of 1,300 state government jobs over the course of his tenure and Florida’s investment in what he described as the “largest and most successful school choice program in the country.”
That’s a program that siphons money from public schools to fund largely unregulated private schools that are free to discriminate against “difficult,” special-needs or LGBTQ+ students without consequence.
Notably, several controversial budget items this year made the final cut, including $4 million for artificial intelligence software to help the state make decisions about government food assistance eligibility for Floridians in need, another $29.5 million for a state program that promotes religiously affiliated anti-abortion pregnancy resource centers, and $500,000 for a hotline run by an anti-abortion group (the Texas-based Human Coalition) that seeks to intercept women seeking abortion care and direct them to facilities that will pressure them to continue their pregnancy instead.
A loss for corrections officers
DeSantis also took flak for vetoing proposed raises for Florida’s correctional officers, which were tied to proposed funding for prison construction and improvements, according to the Florida Phoenix. The funding would have raised minimum pay for officers to $24 an hour.
“I’ve been very supportive of corrections pay for the entire time I’ve been governor,” DeSantis said in defense of his veto at the Monday press conference. “We’ve had a big crisis, because it’s a tough job, and if you can make more at Wawa, why would you want to be in a correction facility?”
DeSantis blamed state lawmakers for tying the officer raises to the construction of a new prison facility that he said would incur new debt for the state.
“They tried to hold hostage the corrections pay in order to generate more debt on behalf of the state of Florida, when we’ve made so much progress in reducing debt,” he argued. “So I vetoed the bill.”
Related Stories
Inmate advocates work to air-condition some Florida prisons this legislative session
Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith says Florida prisons need more money than they’re asking for
The Florida Police Benevolent Association, a labor union that represents correctional officers in the state and endorsed DeSantis for office, accepted the governor’s explanation while admitting the veto is a “disappointment.”
“While I understand his explanation, the result is the same: Florida’s correctional officers are left without the pay increase they have earned,” the PBA shared in a Facebook post. “This decision will make it even more difficult to recruit and retain officers, and I believe staffing levels will continue to fall below safe standards throughout the summer. Correctional officers deserve better and public safety should not be a political game played by anyone.”
Florida House Democratic Caucus leader Fentrice Driskell, D-Tampa, criticized DeSantis’s extensive veto list in a statement released Monday afternoon. “Under this administration, billions of taxpayer dollars have been squandered on schemes like Alligator Alcatraz, the HOPE Florida scandal, failed prescription importation programs, and renaming airports,” Driskell said, cheekily referencing the soon-to-be Trump International Airport in Palm Beach.
“Not one of these projects helps put food on the table or gas in your tank,” she added. “A budget is a statement of values, and the governor has shown that he values big businesses and his funders more than educating our children, feeding our families, and making sure that we all have reasonable access to affordable medical care.”
Subscribe to Orlando Weekly newsletters.
Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Bluesky | Or sign up for our RSS Feed
