by Andrew Powell
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the state’s record-setting budget on Thursday which will increase state employee salaries, spend $1.6 billion on restoring the Everglades ecosystem and speed up infrastructure projects across the Sunshine State.
House Bill 2500 is the General Appropriations Act and the state budget for fiscal year 2023-24. Dubbed the “Framework For Freedom Budget” by the DeSantis administration, the bill provides $117 billion in state funding for projects across the state, including increases in education funding, teacher salaries and recruitment bonuses to attract more law enforcement officers.
DeSantis noted that Florida runs big budget surpluses, unlike the federal government which is trillions of dollars in debt.
“We lower taxes in the state of Florida, we are able to do things that make a difference in people’s lives by not wasting money, but by spending it on things that really have a great impact on the general public, and so we are good fiscal stewards,” DeSantis said at a news conference in Fort Pierce.
DeSantis stated that the debt for the U.S. is larger than its economy, while in Florida, the economy is over $1 trillion, while state debt sits around $17 billion.
“If you look at our performance, particularly since COVID, we have outperformed the country dramatically,” DeSantis said, adding that there are more people employed in Florida than there were before the pandemic.
Starting July 1, there will no longer be sales tax on certain items like diapers, adult incontinence products, baby food and formula, and baby clothing and equipment. DeSantis said this is part of Florida’s plan to beat rising inflation costs and allow Floridians to keep more money in their pockets.
Families will get further help when school supplies get two sales tax exemption holidays over the year, and summer activities like concerts and event tickets will also be tax exempt. Gas stoves are also tax exempt, an attempt DeSantis said to push in the opposite direction of the Biden administration, which the governor says wants to ban gas stoves.
DeSantis also stated that the budget includes funds to accelerate infrastructure projects to ease congestion on the highways and interstates.
“We are taking $4 billion and we are doing an infusion for the acceleration of these infrastructure projects so that we don’t have people stuck in traffic for the next twenty years,” DeSantis said, adding that some of these projects will be completed 13 years ahead of schedule.
A total of $130 million will be allocated for law enforcement officer salary increases and the state is also offering recruitment bonuses for out-of-state officers. Teachers are also getting a pay increase and workforce education programs are getting additional funding.
Job training and higher education are both getting additional funding and apprenticeships have been doubled in Florida. DeSantis noted that education in Florida at state universities and colleges is more affordable than in other states.
Health has a budget of $47.3 billion, spread across several areas including expanding KidCare access, mental health and substance abuse services, and children’s hospitals.
Environmental protection has also been a top priority, and the budget has allocated $11.3 billion to help restore the Everglades, protect and restore the Indian River Lagoon, and improve the quality of Florida’s water.
Shawn Hamilton from Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection applauded the budget and thanked DeSantis for “walking the walk” regarding environmental protection.
“This is the largest environmental budget in the history of our state…the fact that the funding is following the policy speaks to the governor’s commitment to our environment,” Hamilton said.
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Andrew Powell is a contributor to The Center Square.
Photo “Ron DeSantis” by Ron DeSantis. Background Photo “Florida Capitol” by Michael Rivera. CC BY-SA 3.0.
