Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday signed a $116.5 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year, after vetoing close to $950 million in spending approved by lawmakers in March. The vetoes include $42.6 million from what had been a record $151 million in appropriations for Flagler County, Palm Coast, Bunnell and Flagler Beach, a heavy loss that dampens earlier hopes for a big haul.
That still left $108 million in appropriations for a dozen projects in the county and its cities, except in Bunnell, all four of whose special appropriations the governor vetoed, as if he reserved special animus for that city. (See the full local list of appropriations and vetoes at the foot of the article.)
DeSantis also vetoed $6 million that had been appropriated for a YMCA in Palm Coast’s Town Center, a major blow to the city and regional efforts to broadness fitness offerings, and $5 million that had been appropriated for the “eco-tourism” center planned for State Road 100, near the new footbridge.
“There are other funding sources for that,” Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin said of the YMCA, which had secured a smaller appropriation last year. “Shame, but we’ll find another way. I want to make that happen.” As for the rest of the city’s requests, “we didn’t get all that we asked for but we certainly got a lion’s share,” the mayor said.
Flagler Beach lost the $1.65 million that had been appropriated for drainage-infrastructure improvements on Lambert Avenue. The Flagler County School Board lost a $1.65 million appropriation for a building expansion at Flagler Technical College, its adult education division.
Palm Coast lost three infrastructure, drainage and sewer appropriations totaling $10 million. But Palm Coast’s substantial road-construction appropriations for the city’s westward expansion survived, as did, in the county, a $10 million appropriation for a planned emergency shelter and vast improvements at Cattleman’s Hall at the County Fairgrounds, a project County Commissioner Leann Pennington fought hard for.
“Some of the stuff I don’t think was appropriate for state tax dollars,” DeSantis said of the vetoes during a budget-signing event at The Vault, a venue in Tampa. “Some of the stuff you’ll see are things that I support, but we have actual programs for.”
A wide range of groups quickly praised the budget for including money for their priorities. As examples, the Everglades Trust touted more than $740 million for Everglades restoration, the Florida Health Care Association pointed to an 8 percent increase in Medicaid funding for nursing homes, and the Florida Mosquito Control Association cited a $1 million increase in funding to “combat the world’s deadliest animal.”
Meanwhile, the progressive group DeSantis Watch called vetoes “cruel” and a demonstration of “misplaced priorities.”
The budget includes a nearly $1.8 billion increase in the Florida Education Finance Program, the main funding source for public schools, with total funding for the kindergarten- through 12th-grade system topping $28.4 billion.
The overall pot of money for schools includes such things as a $20 million increase in mental-health funding and a $40 million boost for school-safety efforts.
DeSantis also approved a $200 million increase to help boost teacher salaries. Coupled with past increases, DeSantis said the budget includes $1.25 billion for teacher salaries.
“This budget will include $1.25 billion that can only be used to increase teacher salaries. No money to unions, no money to bureaucracy, only for teacher salary increases. And that’s more than the state of Florida has ever done,” DeSantis said.
But the Florida Education Association teachers union said the money would have to be spread to roughly 200,000 educators and would not “move the needle” far enough.
“This $200 million equates to a salary increase in every classroom teacher’s paycheck of about $125 a month, and nowhere near the $15,000 annual increase needed to match the national average for teacher salaries,” union President Andrew Spar said in a statement. “The only thing the budget guarantees is that Florida’s teachers will remain near the bottom in average pay.”
Lawmakers passed the budget on March 8, the final day of this year’s legislative session. The state’s 2024-2025 fiscal year will start July 1.
In a 39-page veto letter, DeSantis touted the nearly $950 million that he carved out of the budget, but he did not include explanations for individual line-item vetoes.
“Governments should strive to do more with less,” DeSantis wrote. “It can be done, and my action today cements that lesson for the nation.”
In the higher-education part of the budget, numerous proposed construction and renovation projects were among the items vetoed. They included $26.2 million that would have gone toward a science and engineering research wing at the University of West Florida.
Another $13.5 million was vetoed for a training center at Pensacola State College aimed at business and industry training. The governor also vetoed $11.6 million for renovations to Florida Gulf Coast University’s Reed Hall classroom building.
DeSantis also slashed $30 million that would have gone toward the New Worlds Tutoring Program, an outgrowth of a larger reading program for children that was a priority of former House Speaker Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor.
The tutoring program was part of a bill (HB 1361) that DeSantis signed last month. A House staff analysis of the bill said the tutoring program would “support school districts and schools in improving kindergarten through grade 5 student achievement in reading and mathematics.”
Also among the vetoes was $80 million for the Florida College System to participate in the state group insurance program, which provides health insurance to state workers.
Other vetoes dealt with a wide range of proposed spending, such as $26 million for cultural and museum grants, $12.7 million for sewer line work in Hendry County, $5 million for transportation safety improvements in Bradenton and $5 million for upgrades at Wauchula Municipal Airport.
DeSantis said the vetoes will lead to total spending being below the current fiscal year, which will end June 30.
Among big-ticket items, the budget includes $14.5 billion for the state transportation work program and $232 million for cancer-research funding, including $127.5 million for the Casey DeSantis Cancer Research Program.
In addition to money in the budget, lawmakers also scattered about $1.95 billion in spending in separate bills. The budget is the only measure that has to pass each year, and DeSantis is still considering some bills from the session.
“I know we’ve got some more legislation that we’re still processing, but I think this was the big enchilada that was left from the legislative session,” DeSantis said. “I’m glad we’ve got it done. I’m glad we’ve been able to meet the needs but also to keep spending under control.”
–FlaglerLive and News Service of Florida
Funding Initiative Requests and Appropriations: 2024 Session
Source: Florida Senate’s Local Funding Initiative Requests page for 2024-25. Click on each funding request for details.
(*) The figures are from the appropriations bill engrossed on March 8, 2024.
(**) Appropriation for the multi-agency facility is funded through the State Guard’s budget.
