Florida state budget

The 16 pages of cuts ranged from as little as $10,500 for a county public works generator to $80 million for group insurance for the state college system.

Gov. Ron DeSantis trimmed over a half billion dollars from the spending plan that goes into effect July 1st. The line-item vetoes put the budget at roughly $116.5 billion.

Democratic state Sen. Jason Pizzo filed the suit, contending the DeSantis administration infringed on the federal government regarding immigration issues.

Monthly tax collections in Florida continue to exceed expectations, while state economists are concerned that inflation will take a toll on consumer spending.

Breaking from efforts by Florida lawmakers to punish school districts that imposed mask mandates during the pandemic, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday directed Florida’s new education commissioner to ignore a plan that would have made the districts ineligible for $200 million.

Pointing to a need to further brace the state against a potential recession, Gov. Ron DeSantis issued $3.13 billion in vetoes Thursday as he signed a $109.9 billion budget for the fiscal year that will begin July 1.

A $112.1 billion budget that Florida lawmakers passed last week covers more than the state’s basics for education, health care, and law enforcement.

Florida lawmakers will vote Monday on a record $112.1 billion state budget for the 2022-2023 fiscal year, up 10.4 percent from a spending plan approved for the current year.

With a budget remaining unfinished Tuesday night, the annual legislative session is headed to overtime. Senate President Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, and House Speaker Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, issued a memo shortly before 9 p.m. that said budget talks would continue Wednesday.

With legislative leaders trying to meet a Tuesday deadline for finishing a new state budget, Gov. Ron DeSantis will get more money than he requested for a reactivated Florida State Guard and to relocate undocumented immigrants out of the state.