{"id":80694,"date":"2025-12-12T10:04:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T10:04:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/80694\/"},"modified":"2025-12-12T10:04:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T10:04:14","slug":"heres-whats-hiding-in-florida-gov-desantis-latest-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/80694\/","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s what\u2019s hiding in Florida Gov. DeSantis\u2019 latest budget"},"content":{"rendered":"

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. \u2013 This week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled his latest budget proposal<\/a> for next year, laying out how he wants to spend state funds.<\/p>\n

In total, DeSantis\u2019 proposal \u2014 dubbed the \u201cFloridians First\u201d budget \u2014 amounts to nearly $117.4 billion, a roughly 2% jump from the last approved state budget<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That said, the governor\u2019s latest proposal features several key spending highlights, which include the following components:<\/p>\n

Cutting Costs – Elimination of over 350 state positions and other bureaucratic shifts, which are expected to yield around $850 million in savings<\/p>\n

Pay Raises – A 2% cost-of-living adjustment for all state employees, along with 5% raises for law enforcement officers, Florida park rangers, judges, attorneys, and I.T. professionals<\/p>\n

Debt Reduction – Pay off over 50% of Florida\u2019s tax-supported debt accumulated since statehood by 2027<\/p>\n

Maintain Reserves – Investment of nearly $17 billion in total state reserves alongside a balanced budget<\/p>\n

Alongside these bullet points, the budget proposal also calls for another \u201cSecond Amendment Sales Tax Holiday.\u201d<\/p>\n

ANOTHER TAX HOLIDAY?<\/p>\n

According to the governor\u2019s office, this next sales tax holiday will include the same items as last time<\/a>, along with even more items like decoys, and price hikes for fishing bait and tackle that are eligible for savings.<\/p>\n

If enacted, the holiday would run from Sept. 7 through the end of the year, with an estimated $35 million in tax savings for hunters, anglers and campers.<\/p>\n

PROPERTY TAXES<\/p>\n

Stemming from DeSantis\u2019 crusade to gut property taxes<\/a> in Florida, his budget proposal also calls for $300 million to be set aside \u201cto support ongoing policy considerations.\u201d<\/p>\n

While many local governments rely on property taxes to fund public services, DeSantis has proposed replacing \u201cfiscally constrained\u201d counties\u2019<\/a> funding with surplus state funds.<\/p>\n

And with several tax cut bills<\/a> making their way through the Legislature, the governor\u2019s office said the $300 million would help implement any tax relief framework that might be implemented.<\/p>\n

ESG CRACKDOWN<\/p>\n

Another important feature of the budget is a crackdown on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing and spending, which DeSantis\u2019 office dubbed \u201cscams.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under DeSantis, a 2023 Florida law took effect<\/a> that required state investments be based on returns, rather than these ESG factors.<\/p>\n

Now, DeSantis\u2019 new proposal seeks to expand that even further.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Budget recommends new safeguards against locally imposed ESG-related taxes and additional financial management protections to prevent the use of public funds to finance DEI mandates,\u201d state officials wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n

HIGHLIGHTS LIST<\/p>\n

You can find even more budget highlights<\/a> from DeSantis\u2019 office listed out below:<\/p>\n

CategoryPurposeFunding AmountEducationK-12 public school system funding$30.6 billionEducationOperating funding for State University System$4 billionEducationOperating funding for Florida College System$1.9 billionEducationFunding for early child education$1.7 billionEducationTeacher pay increases$1.56 billionEducationSafe Schools Allocation$300 millionEducationFlorida\u2019s four historically Black colleges and universities$146 millionEducationRewards for quality nursing education programs to address nursing vacancies$130 millionEducationRecruitment and retention of highly qualified faculty in State University System$100 millionEnvironment & Natural ResourcesEverglades and water quality projects$1.4 billionEnvironment & Natural ResourcesStrengthen Florida\u2019s coastline, including beach nourishment$208 millionFiscal StrengthIncrease in total state reserves$1.09 billionFiscal StrengthReserved funds for ongoing property tax relief conversations$300 millionFiscal StrengthAccelerated debt repayment$250 millionFiscal StrengthInvestment to max out Florida\u2019s Rainy-Day Fund$118 millionFiscal StrengthMarketing efforts through Visit Florida$80 millionHealthcareCancer research$278 millionHealthcareBehavioral health services$159 millionHealthcareChild welfare system, foster parents and community-based services$36.6 millionHealthcareCoordinated Opioid Recovery Network$31.8 millionHealthcareSupport individuals with unique abilities$20 millionHealthcareCapital improvements for State Veterans\u2019 Nursing Homes$8.6 millionHealthcareCommunity Care for the Elderly Program and Home Care for the Elderly Program$7.5 millionLaw Enforcement & MilitaryNational Guard facilities, guardsmen seeking higher ed degrees, retention bonuses, and health insurance premium reimbursements$91.7 millionLaw Enforcement & MilitaryEquipping, training and recruiting new Florida State Guard members$62 millionLaw Enforcement & MilitaryLaw Enforcement Recruitment Bonus Program$25 millionLaw Enforcement & MilitaryFlorida State Assistance for Fentanyl Eradication (S.A.F.E.) Program$15 millionLaw Enforcement & MilitaryPay raises to state law enforcement officers$13.5 millionTransportationDepartment of Transportation (FDOT)$15.4 billionTransportationState transportation work program$14.3 billionTransportationHighway construction and maintenance$4.9 billionBreaking News Alerts<\/p>\n

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Copyright 2025 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TALLAHASSEE, Fla. \u2013 This week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled his latest budget proposal for next year, laying…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":80695,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,100,29,9503,2159,99,412,8527,4443],"class_list":{"0":"post-80694","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-florida","8":"tag-florida","9":"tag-florida-headlines","10":"tag-florida-legislature","11":"tag-florida-news","12":"tag-insurance","13":"tag-money","14":"tag-politics","15":"tag-ron-desantis","16":"tag-taxes","17":"tag-tech"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80694"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80694\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/80695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}