TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV/Gray Florida Capital Bureau) – A multi-billion-dollar emergency fund that Gov. Ron DeSantis has used for immigration enforcement faces a critical deadline this month.
The Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund is scheduled to expire Feb. 17. Lawmakers are battling over whether to extend the controversial fund through the end of next year, with some wanting more oversight of how the money is spent.
Lawmakers created the Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund in 2022 to prepare for and respond to disasters.
“We don’t like deficit spending in state government. That’s why we have a balanced budget,” said Sen. Ed Hooper, R-Palm Harbor.
Before 2022, governors could deficit spend by declaring an emergency during disasters, requiring lawmakers to account for the spending later.
“Without a specific pot of money, the governor could deficit spend by declaring an emergency. And then we would somewhere along the way have to account for that,” Hooper said.
The legislature has put more than $4.7 billion in the fund since it was created. The state used it to respond to Hurricanes Ian and Milton and for immigration enforcement efforts.
More Florida politics:
DeSantis has renewed his immigration emergency order nearly 20 times since 2023, when migrants were arriving in the Florida Keys.
Democrats have called the fund a slush fund for the governor and want to see more safeguards.
“This doesn’t have to be a policy issue. This has to be an oversight issue. That is our role. We’ve given up oversight,” said Sen. Tina Polsky, D-Boca Raton.
The legislature has the power to end states of emergency. Democrats filed a resolution that would end the immigration emergency and bills to limit emergency renewals without legislative oversight. Those bills have not moved forward.
“The rest of us wouldn’t have a problem if this fund were limited to natural disasters or other kinds of true emergencies that I think we can all agree are emergencies,” Polsky said.
Hooper said lawmakers may add safeguards to the fund.
“This session might be late, but next session there will be a different governor, maybe a different makeup of the cabinet,” Hooper said.
The Senate is trying to fast-track legislation to the governor before the Feb. 17 deadline. However, the House does not currently have a bill addressing the fund, making it unclear if that will happen.
Copyright 2026 WCTV. All rights reserved.