by Andrew Powell
The Florida legislative session has come to an end after state lawmakers made their final votes on the budget on Friday.
Senate Bill 2500, the General Appropriations Act, passed both chambers on day 60 of the regular session and is set to be far higher than initially planned, reaching an estimated $117 billion, $7 billion higher than the previous year’s budget.
Gov. Ron DeSantis made several budget requests which totaled $115 billion and the finalized budget allows for these and includes employee pay increases, infrastructure projects, a boost to education, tax cuts, and recruitment bonuses.
K-12 education funding takes $27 billion for the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP), which is the main funding source for public schools. Classroom teachers are getting a salary increase after $252.8 million was appropriated.
An allocation of $100 million will go towards the School Readiness program, and $24 million will be appropriated to launch the Florida School of Competitive Academics, while $5 million has been allocated to change school start times.
The FEFP is receiving $2.2 billion more than the current year, with an increase in the per-student funds to $8,648. Florida’s school expansion bill gives every eligible student in the Sunshine State access to $8,000 scholarships that can be used on private school tuition or other learning materials for homeschooled children.
Higher education would receive $8.3 billion, and the State University System would receive $350 million for performance-based incentives for faculty members, while the Florida College System is receiving $155.7 million in funding. Each school district career college will also be fully funded with an appropriation of $36.2 million apiece.
The budget includes $3 billion in tax breaks, and several everyday items are now permanently exempt from a state sales tax, including baby diapers and adult incontinence products, and over-the-counter pet medications.
The health care appropriation in the budget is $47.3 billion and includes $125 million for initiatives to increase the quality of care in nursing homes, $20.6 million to increase income eligibility for KidCare coverage, and $295.4 million to address the opioid crisis by providing prevention and treatment services.
The Department of Corrections is being allocated $33 million as part of a $6.7 billion outlay for the justice system. The Department of Law Enforcement will have $24.5 million for information technology, investigative and protective equipment, and inmates of state correctional facilities will have more access to wellness tools after $29.5 million was allocated to the Inmate Welfare Trust Fund.
Infrastructure needs will also be met with a $20.9 billion appropriation and includes the full funding of $13.6 billion for the Transportation Work Program, planned over a 5-year period. Road projects to relieve traffic congestion will be accelerated with $4 billion in funding. Local transportation projects will receive $401 million, and $100 million will be used to expand high-speed internet access.
Another $7.5 billion has been set aside to preserve Florida’s natural resources, including $694.6 million for Everglade restoration, $320 million for the Flooding and Sea Level Rise Resilience Plan and other planning grants, and $206 million will be allocated to preserve beaches and restore sand dunes.
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Andrew Powell is a contributor to The Center Square.
Photo “Ron DeSantis” by Governor Ron DeSantis. Background Photo “Florida State Capitol” by Ebyabe. CC BY-SA 3.0.
