Governor Ron DeSantis has received the legislature’s spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year. But before it can be approved, the $93 billion budget is already expected to shrink. The fiscal year begins on July 1.
The delivery comes a day after DeSantis warned of looming budget cuts. DeSantis told reporters he’s trying to preserve state worker and teacher pay raises, but the cuts will be coming.
“There’s going to be a lot more vetoes… It’s kind of the veto equivalent of the red wedding from Game of Thrones. There’s going to be things in my budget that I’m definitely going to veto. Just because the fiscal picture is different. I think we’re probably hopefully going to recover quicker than we thought two months ago,” the governor told reporters Tuesday.
The state’s revenue collections came in nearly $890 million short of estimates in April and that number is expected to climb even higher, even as businesses reopen. DeSantis is hoping for a quick recovery. He doesn’t anticipate lawmakers will have to return to Tallahassee early to address the budget and says the state will use some federal money to plug the budget holes.
On the chopping block is the governor’s job growth fund, planned agency holdbacks and member projects—special budget items that benefit local organizations, cities and counties.
