Florida’s DeSantis cuts $1 billion to raise state budget to $116.5 billion, slightly less than current plan

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spent more than an hour talking about what was in the $116.5 billion he signed Wednesday, but he left out the most important part of the announcement: what was in the nearly U.S. $1 billion he vetoed.

Overall, the state’s spending plan is slightly lower than the current budget and provides for 3% raises for civil servants and sets aside $1.5 billion that should be used for teacher raises.

“All in all, I think this is a budget that shows it can be done,” DeSantis said, saying the state will fund important programs, provide tax benefits, increase emergency savings and still have a lower budget.

But he didn’t elaborate on the biggest issue budget watchers were anticipating: cuts. The Legislature passed the budget more than three months ago, and DeSantis has been talking for weeks about what he wouldn’t veto. So the only mystery left when he signed was what would lead to the axe.

“Some fellow Republicans even messaged me saying, “Did you get a list? Did you get a list? Did you get a list? said Democratic Senator Jason Pizzo.

DeSantis’ office released the list of vetoes about four hours after the governor began his budget signing ceremony in Tampa, about a four-hour drive from the Capitol.

The 16 pages of cuts came largely from local projects and requests from lawmakers, ranging from just $10,500 for a Taylor County public works generator to $80 million for group insurance for the state university system.

Meanwhile, there were vetoes denying vehicles to dozens of police and firefighters, $6.4 million to provide free menstrual products to public school students, money to local museums and cultural events, and millions to private nonprofit organizations that help homeless. the hungry, the drug addicts and the adopted children.

In a show of bipartisanship, the budget passed unanimously in the Senate and 105-3 in the House, where one Republican and two Democrats opposed the spending plan.

But late Wednesday afternoon, lawmakers were still weighing the cuts. “I have to take a closer look,” Pizzo said.

One thing he noticed was that many local infrastructure projects were cut.

“As I sit here stuck on a Brightline train because of the flooding in my district, all those stormwater projects he cut seem pretty stupid now,” Pizzo said.

___

This version corrects the day of the week to Wednesday.

Associated Press writer Stephany Matat in West Palm Beach, Florida, contributed to this report.