Rep. Anna Eskamani is touting $3 million in local projects that she helped secure for Central Florida as lawmakers passed a $114.5 billion budget.
“I am proud to work across the aisle to bring taxpayer money back to our district,” Eskamani said. “Orange County contributes more than $4 billion to the state in sales tax alone; it’s essential that we build relationships with our colleagues across the aisle to bring these dollars back to our community.”
Eskamani’s local funding requests that ended up in the budget include $500,000 to improve Central Florida’s waterways by cleaning up excess nutrients in Winter Park’s Mead Botanical Garden.
Another $500,000 would go to Share the Care, a nonprofit helping seniors and adults with disabilities, to build a wellness center. SCORE Florida would also receive $400,000 to give free mentoring and business-education services to entrepreneurs across the state.
The city of Belle Isle would get $350,000 to replace two old marine patrol boats and add a side-by-side utility vehicle to improve the city’s emergency response, search and rescue, and patrol operations. The town of Eatonville would get $350,000 for planning and architectural design services for a new public safety building.
Shalom Orlando would receive $350,000 for generator power backup for its three schools, the Jewish Community Center, adult learning, senior programming and the Holocaust Memorial Center.
Another Eskamani-supported project includes $127,500 to study the impact of building an indoor skateboard Olympic training facility in Orange County. Orlando was recently chosen to host the U.S. Olympic qualifiers in 2028. Skateboarding is played at the Olympic Q-Series, though it’s unclear which of the four chosen host cities will get it. The $127,500 will also support starting five smaller outdoor skateboarding programs across Florida.
Eskamani also backed $200,000 for Samaritan Resource Center to help the homeless, $150,000 to support sexual abuse victims and $140,000 for Summer youth programs on art, sports and science.
Money for these and other projects isn’t guaranteed until Gov. Ron DeSantis signs the budget. He holds line-item veto authority and can eliminate individual spending projects.
DeSantis has been clear he uses his veto pen to punish lawmakers who don’t support his agenda.
“If the members are supporting good policy, then, you know, I see their budget items, that’s just something you take into account,” DeSantis said last month at The Federalist Society.
Eskamani, a progressive Democrat from Orlando, is often a fierce critic of DeSantis’ agenda on immigration, abortion, LGBTQ rights and other issues.
“Obviously Gov. DeSantis and I disagree on a lot but where there has been commonality is water quality. So I’m very hopeful that partisanship will not get in the way of this project,” Eskamani said, pointing to the water project at Mead Gardens as an example.
This is Eskamani’s final budget process. She is term-limited in the House and is running for Orlando Mayor in 2027.
The 2026-27 budget, approved Friday, would take effect July 1.