This week, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) released its “2023 Budget Turkey Watch Report,” an independent review of the state’s $117 billion Fiscal Year 2023-24 budget.
Since 1983, FTW has provided Floridians with this additional level of oversight by identifying individual appropriations that circumvent a thoughtful and thorough budget process. The annual Budget Turkey Watch Report is based on the principle that, because funds appropriated by the legislature belong to Florida taxpayers, the process must be transparent and accountable, and every appropriation should receive proper deliberation and public debate.
This year’s review has identified 218 appropriations items worth $598.7 million that qualify as Budget Turkeys. To be clear, the Budget Turkey label does not signify judgement of a project’s worthiness. Rather, it indicates that an appropriation was inserted in the budget during conference committee meetings (meaning it did not appear in either the final Florida Senate or House of Representatives budget), was added back to the budget through the supplemental appropriations lists (“sprinkle lists”), bypassed existing grant and other legislatively established selection processes, and/or may be duplicative, derived from inappropriate trust funds, or contingent on legislation that did not pass.
While FTW is not recommending Gov. Ron DeSantis veto any specific project on the Budget Turkey list, the government watchdog does encourage him to provide “especially close scrutiny” to all 218 projects, as well as nearly $1.2 billion in member projects contained in specific line-items. These member projects do not qualify as Budget Turkeys, but they are being flagged because a formal competitive selection process is needed for them and/or they do not serve a statewide purpose or align with a core function of state government.
Florida TaxWatch Board Chairman Piyush Patel said, “Florida TaxWatch is proud to present our annual Budget Turkey Watch Report, which includes detailed information and thoughtful insight that we hope will serve as a resource to Gov. DeSantis throughout his budget deliberations. With this comprehensive list in hand, we are confident that he will carefully apply his line-item veto power and once again put the best interests of all tax-paying Floridians first.”
Florida TaxWatch President and CEO Dominic M. Calabro said, “Over the last few years, Florida has been fortunate to experience generational investments in critical needs, as well as record tax relief for its hard-working citizens and their families – and this year is no different. While this year’s state budget overall is very responsive and helpful to taxpayers, Florida’s budget surplus is shrinking, and the state’s exorbitant revenue growth is expected to slow considerably in the near future. It is essential to our continued success that Gov. DeSantis and legislative leaders remain responsible with taxpayer dollars, ensuring that all state budget projects are funded with a transparent, coordinated, and statewide vision. Florida TaxWatch is honored to offer the 2023 Budget Turkey Watch Report as a means to that end.”
Florida TaxWatch Senior Vice President of Research Kurt Wenner said, “When it comes to the state budget, Budget Turkeys pose a significant concern for taxpayers, and Florida TaxWatch also finds the steady increase in member projects, or budget earmarks for local spending, particularly alarming this year. These projects are funded at the expense of statewide priorities, core functions of government, and an appropriate level of accountability the people of Florida expect from those they elected to represent them in Tallahassee. Therefore, we continue to recommend that, if the legislature is going to fund such projects – which are traditionally the responsibility of local governments or private entities – there must be a systematic review and selection process to preserve the best interest of Floridians.”
According to FTW, the FY 2023-24 state budget contains a record number of member projects – more than 1,540, worth approximately $3.2 billion (up from $2.8 billion last year). With that, each of the 160 lawmakers were able to secure, on average, 10 member projects worth $20 million for their home district this year. Additionally, over the last seven years, almost $9 billion in member projects have been funded.
The FY 2023-24 budget also includes sprinkle list projects totaling a combined $670 million, all developed and agreed to in private without any opportunity for public input. In a May 2023 briefing, FTW recommended that Gov. DeSantis closely scrutinize 38 of the projects, worth $53.3 million, that were removed from the budget during conference negotiations, only to be added back at the last minute through the sprinkle lists. Moreover, FTW has long asserted that these lists diminish confidence in the budget process and should be discontinued.
Ultimately, to bolster the integrity of Florida’s budget process, while stabilizing the proliferation of member projects, FTW suggests establishing competitive review and selection processes in statute for the following budget areas: Water Projects, Local Transportation Projects, Housing and Community Development Projects, School and Instructional Enhancements, Private College and University Projects, Special Local Law Enforcement Projects, Local Fire Service, Economic Development Projects, Local Emergency Management Facilities, and Workforce Projects.
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