TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled a nearly $115 billion budget recommendation Wednesday that includes $1.5 billion in tax relief on everything from baby diapers to gas stoves, while keeping nearly $16 billion in reserves.
His plan also includes raises for teachers, firefighters, police and corrections officers, a 5% across-the-board pay hike for state workers and a bump in employer contributions to the state retirement fund.
The governor can only suggest a spending plan. The Legislature’s sole constitutional duty is to approve a balanced budget for the governor to approve or veto by line item. The regular session begins next month.
“As Senate Democratic Leader, I am glad to see bipartisan priorities in the Governor’s proposed budget, such as historic tax breaks for hardworking Floridians,” state Sen. Lauren Book, a Plantation Democrat, said in a statement.
But she said the budget process still has a long way to go.
“While we may see much common ground at first glance, the devil is in the details for issues like teacher pay and public safety,” she said.
DeSantis compared his budget to his first spending proposal four years ago, emphasizing the difference in reserves and tax savings.
Since then the state has weathered the COVID-19 pandemic, several major hurricanes, a statewide insurance crisis, nationwide inflation, supply chain issues and food shortages, “yet Florida is stronger than ever,” DeSantis said.
“If you told people (four years ago) what we were proposing today, most people would have said that isn’t possible,” DeSantis said.
He outlined what he called a “Framework for Freedom” budget that raises reserves from $5.1 billion to $15.7 billion, untapped resources from $4.1 billion to $6.9 billion, the rainy day budget stabilization fund from $1.6 billion to $3.4 billion and tax relief from $335 million to $2 billion, including a $500 million toll relief program already approved by lawmakers last year.
He proposed an additional $1.5 billion in sales tax holidays, including permanent exemptions for diapers and gas stoves. The latter was at jab at the Biden administration, which DeSantis and other Republicans claim wants to ban such stoves over safety concerns.
Last month, Richard Trumka, head of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, said gas stoves are “a hidden hazard” because of studies that show they lead to increased cases of asthma in young children. He suggested some stoves might be banned but after a firestorm erupted he clarified that the government was still studying the issue.
DeSantis’ budget includes billions in stimulus funds the federal government poured into Florida during the pandemic as well as billions more for hurricane relief that nearly matched general revenue.
In response to a call by U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., urging all governors to return federal funding to D.C., “If you look at how much money that is, how much of a dent would that make in the debt? Seriously, I appreciate when federal folks are concerned about how we’re managing this, why don’t they get their house in order? Why don’t they stop spending?”
Included in the budget is a $200 million increase for teacher salaries over last year, bringing the total to $1 billion.
The Florida Education Association, the statewide teacher lobbying organization, said it doesn’t go far enough to address the state’s critical teacher shortage, which it says has grown worse under DeSantis.
The pay increase adds less than $20 per week for each teacher in our public schools, FEA President Andrew Spar said in a news release.
That amount doesn’t move the needle much in a state ranked 48th in overall teacher pay, he said. It will do little to help many teachers who are struggling with rent, homeowners insurance and health care costs, which have shot up under DeSantis, Spar said.
Education spending in the governor’s budget comes out to $26 billion, or about $8,550 per student, DeSantis said.
State universities, which have come under attack by DeSantis for spending millions of dollars on diversity, equity and inclusivity programs he considers wasteful, would receive $100 million to recruit faculty.
The governor’s budget staff sent out surveys to the universities to identify how much they spent on DEI programs, classes and administrators, which came out to about $35 million or less than 1% of their overall budgets.
DeSantis said it would be up to the Legislature to pass a law abolishing those offices.
“That needs to be done, it’s really about furthering ideology,” DeSantis said. “We don’t want to micromanage every little thing, but we can draw a red line and say you can’t go past that.”
Under his first budget, DeSantis pledged to spend $2.5 billion on Everglades and water resource protection, and said he exceeded that this year by $800,000.
He announced $3.5 billion to be spent on the environment over the next four years, including $614 million for Everglades restoration and $370 million for water quality improvement projects in the coming year.
His budget also calls for investing $4 billion to leverage a total of $7 billion for a laundry list of road projects that have been sitting on the Department of Transportation’s planning books for years.
DeSantis touted the sales tax relief he wants to provide residents, which range from year-long and permanent tax holidays on diapers and pet food to shorter holidays for back-to-school expenses and summer recreational gear.
Four would be permanent, including exemptions for:
—Baby and toddler diapers, shoes, clothing, baby wipes and other necessities for $138.7 million.
—Cribs and strollers for about $3.9 million.
—New gas stove purchases for $7 million.
—Over-the-counter flea and tick medications and other treatments for about $33.6 million.
One-year tax exemptions are proposed for cosmetics and toiletries, dental and oral hygiene products, pet foods, children’s books, toys and athletic equipment, and household items under $25.
The budget also includes two back-to-school holidays, one at the start of the fall term, and the other at the start of the spring term, a 14-day disaster preparedness tax holiday and a 15-week summer vacation holiday on sunglasses, tents, kayaks and events.
All the sales tax breaks being proposed come out to about $1.5 billion.
Asked why the governor didn’t just propose lowering the sales tax rate given the huge amount of money in reserve, Budget Director Chris Spencer said short-term, targeted breaks were “the best way to provide relief during times of inflation.”
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