TAMPA, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Florida's next state budget Monday, approving a $117.6 billion spending plan that takes effect July 1 and sets the state's priorities for the new fiscal year.
Speaking in Tampa, DeSantis framed the budget as another example of Florida’s fiscal restraint, saying it marks the fourth straight year the state has reduced spending after his line-item vetoes.
WATCH BELOW: DeSantis signs $117.6B budget after roughly $1.6B in vetoes
"The budget that I’ll sign today after doing my line-item vetoes will represent the fourth straight year in Florida that we’ve actually reduced our state budget," DeSantis said. "Who else is doing that?"
The governor said the final budget still funds major priorities, including education, transportation, environmental restoration, law enforcement, and tax relief. He also pointed to roughly $18 billion in reserves and continued efforts to pay down state debt.
"The debt has been cut in half, the reserves are good, the rainy day fund is flush," DeSantis said, adding that those are goals many leaders talk about but "very few are able to actually accomplish."
But the final budget came with a heavy veto pen.
DeSantis cut roughly $1.6 billion from the spending plan approved by lawmakers, with about $800 million of that tied to direct line-item spending. The vetoes included major reductions across corrections, water and resiliency projects, education, higher education, local public safety initiatives, and community programs.
Some of the largest policy-area cuts hit Florida’s prison system. The veto list included tens of millions of dollars tied to prison repairs, new correctional housing units, capital improvements, and pay adjustments. DeSantis argued some of the corrections spending was tied to new debt he did not want the state to take on.
Water and resiliency projects were another major target. An initial review shows more than $170 million in environment, water, agriculture, resiliency, and parks-related items were cut, including local stormwater, wastewater, flood mitigation, and infrastructure projects across the state.
Education also saw notable vetoes. The cuts included $15 million for Catholic school security, along with millions more for college infrastructure and programs, including projects tied to Palm Beach State College, College of the Florida Keys, Indian River State College, and Florida State University’s College of Nursing.
Democrats criticized the vetoes, arguing the cuts fell harder on their members and the communities they represent.
"From what we can see, Democratic projects were vetoed at a rate of roughly two to one when it came to our Republican counterparts," House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell said.
Driskell also questioned the governor’s priorities, saying DeSantis appeared more focused on being able to claim a smaller budget than on the local impact of the cuts.
"What is this governor's priority?" Driskell said. "Because he seems to be more obsessed with talking points and saying that he cut the budget rather than actually caring about the people who are going to be impacted by those cuts."
DeSantis previously told the Federalist Society that he takes lawmakers' support of his agenda into account when considering the budget.
"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.
All told, the governor said this year’s vetoes bring his budget cuts over eight years to more than $10 billion. He said that’s far more than his recent predecessors combined.
FULL LIST OF BUDGET VETOES:
