Below is a statement from the Florida Senate.
The Florida Senate Committee on Appropriations chaired by Senator Doug Broxson (R-Pensacola) released Senate Bill 2500, the General Appropriations Act, as well as the implementing bill and conforming bills associated with a balanced budget for the upcoming 2024-2025 fiscal year. The legislation makes significant investments in Florida’s infrastructure, with record funding for public schools and school choice opportunities for Florida parents. The budget authorizes paying off $455 million in state debt, accounts for significant tax relief, and sets aside record state reserves. Additional legislation advancing in the Senate includes historic funding to grow Florida’s health care workforce and new, dedicated investments in Florida’s environment & clean water resiliency.
Below are comments from Chair Broxson and Senate President Kathleen Passidomo (R-Naples).
“Here in the free state of Florida, we wisely utilized pandemic funds to make critical, one-time, generational investments in our infrastructure – from roads and bridges, to education facilities, to clean water and coastal resilience,” said President Passidomo. “As the timeline to spend pandemic funds is coming to end, we are making smart, fiscally-responsible adjustments and right-sizing our balanced budget to a level sustainable for the long term. Our revenues are increasing, but instead of spending all of we have, we are paying down debt, setting aside historic reserves, and providing for meaningful tax relief, so Floridians can keep more of their hard-earned money.”
“Other states are making deep budget cuts and raising taxes because they spent pandemic funds on recurring expenses they can’t afford and are now facing post-pandemic declining revenues and budget deficits, which is only making matters worse. Thanks to sound financial management throughout the pandemic by Governor DeSantis and the Legislature here in the Sunshine State, forward-looking investments are shoring up our infrastructure, helping to create good jobs in growing communities,” said Chair Broxson. “With more than 300,000 people a year moving to the free state of Florida, we are getting ready and building a transportation, housing, health care, and clean water infrastructure that can accommodate significant population growth over the next decade,” continued President Passidomo. With all the growth we are experiencing, we can’t and won’t forget one of the main reasons people move here in the first place – our environment. We are continuing to expand our wildlife corridor, and making ongoing investments in land management that will expand public access for recreation and preserve our environment and natural resources for future generations of Floridians and visitors. Our budget continues our commitment to retain the talented and dedicated workers who serve in state government with an across the board salary increase to address inflation, and targeted raises for some of the most difficult jobs in state government,” said Chair Broxson.
