TALLAHASSEE — Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis outlined his proposed $117 billion state budget Wednesday, including recommendations to increase spending on law enforcement as well as investments in campus security for the state's public universities, following a mass shooting at Florida State University in April that killed two and injured six others.
At a press stop in Orlando on Wednesday, DeSantis touted what he said is the state's fiscal responsibility, as the term-limited executive prepares to leave the state's top office. The first state budget enacted under DeSantis' watch in 2019 was about $91 billion.
"This budget's entitled 'Floridians First' because that's the focus of it. It's putting our people first and making sure we're good stewards but also making sure that folks, that the, that the needs that we have are being addressed," DeSantis said.
In response, the Florida Education Association Wednesday issued a strongly worded statement opposing the governor’s budget proposal. Headlined "Governor’s budget proposal shortchanges students, families, and educators instead of prioritizing them," the statement goes on to say that "the Governor has failed Florida’s students."
The governor detailed $13.5 million in pay raises for state law enforcement officers, about $1.6 billion in funding for Everglades restoration, water quality and conservation efforts and $1.56 billion for teacher pay increases, as well as new funding to harden the state's university campuses following the FSU shooting, including $20 million to install door locks in classrooms.
His spending plan calls for hiring 500 additional corrections officers and prison personnel and an additional $91.7 million for Florida National Guard facilities and guardsmen benefits. Meanwhile, DeSantis has called for eliminating more than 350 state government positions, including county health department jobs.
DeSantis has continued his call to slash property taxes in the state, a proposal that Democrats have assailed as an unnecessary move that could threaten the delivery of basic local services. The governor has proposed $300 million to backfill the coffers of the state's fiscally constrained counties, which are expected to be disproportionately impacted by the reduction or elimination of property taxes, due to their limited tax bases.
Florida House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell called the proposal a "shell game" that would leave small and rural counties in a "welfare state," dependent on state lawmakers to keep their local governments running each year.
"That's not fair to the local elected officials who are trying to serve their communities. And frankly, I think that we should leave property taxes alone and focus on the actual issues of affordability that people care about," Driskell said.
DeSantis also defended the state's multimillion-dollar investment in temporary immigration detention centers, expenses he maintains the federal government will reimburse, and said the state has plans for a fourth detention site in the "southern half" of the state. The state already is home to a remote detention center in the Everglades dubbed Alligator Alcatraz, as well as a retooled state prison outside of Jacksonville. State officials had also previously announced plans for an immigration detention site in the western Panhandle that has yet to open.
A DeSantis administration budget official said Wednesday the federal government has committed to reimbursing the state $608 million for detention center-related costs, though the reimbursements are still being processed.
The state's largest teachers union lamented the fact that Florida ranks 45th in the nation in education spending and 50th in average teacher pay, and claimed the Governor's budget "offers little to address the waste and abuse of education funding. In fact, instead of fixing these failures, his budget doubles down on them, continuing to support policies that divert billions of taxpayer dollars into the hands of unelected private interests while leaving public schools and their students behind."
Teachers are suffering, the FEA claims. "Eight years of broken promises have left them in a financial crisis, struggling to afford rent, homeowners’ insurance, groceries, healthcare, childcare, and other basic day-to-day expenses. This story is all too familiar for many Floridians who know it’s far more expensive to live in Florida now, under the Governor's leadership, than before he took office."
The statement calls on lawmakers to "right the ship."
DeSantis' proposal would take effect with the start of the new fiscal year, July 1, 2026.
Although the budget represents an increase in overall education funding, a likely sticking point is the $4.4 billion allotted to the state's private school voucher program, for which all students qualify since a change in the program in 2023. Previously there was an income requirement. Another likely flashpoint is the $20 million — a $14 million increase — for the Schools of Hope program that allows charter schools to "co-locate" in public schools that are underperforming or have low enrollment.
WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you. Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
