Florida - Wednesday February 1, 2023: Governor DeSantis announced his proposed $114.8B state budget for Fiscal Year 2023–2024 during a news conference in Tallahassee Wednesday morning. He has named it the "Framework for Freedom Budget."
The budget has been submitted to the Legislature for its review and approval.
Among the budget highlights are four permanent tax cuts, and more than 10 temporary tax cuts.
The permanent tax exemptions are:
• A permanent sales tax exemption for baby and toddler necessities
• A permanent sales tax exemption for cribs and strollers
• A permanent sales tax exemption for over-the-counter pet medications
• A permanent sales tax exemption for gas stoves
The tax holidays are:
• Temporary holidays on children’s books, children’s toys, children’s athletic equipment, certain household items and clothing, disaster preparedness items, outdoor recreation items, dental and oral hygiene products, pet food, hand and power tools, energy star appliances, and natural gas.
and total reserves exceeding $15 billion.
To read the budget highlights click HERE.
To read the transmittal letter to the Legislature, click HERE.
To read the Freedom First Budget FAQs, click HERE.
Funding for State employee pay raises include:
• An across-the-board 5 percent pay increase for all state employees.
• An additional 10 percent increase over the statewide average for certain “hard-to-hire” positions of importance for state government.
• An increase for correctional officers to $23 per hour.
Funding for key Florida industries
• $100 million to continue the vital state marketing and promotion efforts of VISIT FLORIDA, the state’s official tourism marketing corporation and a source of travel planning for visitors across the globe.
• $2.7 billion for Florida’s agricultural industry. To preserve Florida’s iconic citrus industry, the budget invests $29.4 million for citrus research, the Citrus Health Response Program, and for consumer awareness marketing efforts.
• $14.7 billion for the Florida Department of Transportation to retain current employees and supports the creation of more than 244,000 jobs.
Funding for infrastructure:
• $13.4 billion is provided for the State Transportation Work Program, an ongoing five-year plan for the implementation and completion of transportation infrastructure projects, including the construction and maintenance of Florida’s roads, bridges, rails, seaports, and other public transportation systems
• $100 million to support broadband initiatives to expand high-speed internet deployment and access to Florida communities.
• $30 million for the Rural Infrastructure Fund to support projects such as roads, storm and wastewater systems, and telecommunications facilities.
Funding for job growth:
• $100 million for the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund, which supports additional economic growth in Florida by providing local areas with funding for proposed public infrastructure and workforce training projects.
Funding to prevent "harmful immigration":
• $12 million is recommended to continue implementation of the Governor’s initiative to protect Floridians against the harms resulting from illegal immigration by facilitating the transport of unauthorized aliens from any point of origin in the U.S. to any jurisdiction.
Funding for education:
• $1 billion, an increase of $200 million, in funding to provide salary increases for new and veteran teachers and other eligible instructional personnel.
• $1.6 billion in funding for early childhood education, including more than $451 million for Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK).
• Historic $26 billion in funding, of which $14.1 billion is record state funding for the K-12 public school system.
• $1.5 billion in state operating funding for the Florida College System.
• $3.1 billion in state operating funding for the State University System.
• $100 million for the recruitment and retention of highly qualified faculty at state universities.
• $15 million for the institutional overhaul and restructuring of the New College of Florida.
Funding for workforce education:
• $20 million to develop the Teacher Registered Apprenticeship Program for the Governor’s Pathways to Career Opportunities Grant Program, an increase of $5 million.
• $125 million in total funding to support the LINE and PIPELINE nursing education initiatives.
Funding to protect Florida's natural resources:
• More than $614 million for Everglades restoration projects, including:
- $58 million for Restoration Strategies.
- $182.2 million for the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP).
- $86.3 million for the C-43 West Basin Reservoir Storage Project.
- $152 million for the EAA Reservoir to continue the momentum of this critical project to reduce harmful discharges and help send more clean water south of the Everglades.
- $50 million is included for specific project components designed to achieve the greatest reductions in harmful discharges to the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie Estuaries
- $86.1 million is included for the Northern Everglades and Estuaries Protection Program.
- $370 million for targeted water quality improvements to achieve significant, meaningful, and measurable nutrient reductions in key waterbodies across the state and to implement the initial recommendations of the Blue-Green Algae Task Force.
- $50 million to restore Florida’s world-renowned springs; $85 million for the continued stabilization, water treatment, and closure at Piney Point; and a $65 million investment to improve water quality and combat the effects and impacts of harmful algal blooms, including blue-green algae and red tide.
- $3.4 million for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to remove pythons from the Everglades.
Funding for affordable housing:
• $121.7 million for the State Apartment Incentive Loan (SAIL) Program.
• $281 million for the State Housing Initiatives Partnership Program (SHIP).
• $100 million for the second year of the Hometown Heroes Housing Program. This program makes homeownership affordable for eligible frontline community workers such as law enforcement officers, firefighters, educators, healthcare professionals, childcare employees, and active military or veterans.
Funding for public safety:
• $124.3 million to provide salary increases across various public safety agencies, including
- $107.2 million to increase the Department of Corrections’ (FDC) base rate of pay to $23 per hour for specified Correctional Officer, Correctional Probation Officer, and Inspector positions;
- $1.8 million to provide a four percent increase to Special Agents and Law Enforcement positions within the Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE);
- $6.8 million for special pay adjustments based on salary ranges for all sworn law enforcement officers within FDLE, Department of Legal Affairs (DLA), State Attorneys, and State Courts (SCS); and
- $8.5 million for an increase for years of service for sworn law enforcement officers within FDLE, DLA, State Attorneys, and SCS.
- $3.4 million will provide a targeted retention pay plan for Correctional Officers, Correctional Probation Officers, and the Inspectors. This funding aims to increase retention rates by providing a $1,000 pay increase at two years of service, a $500 pay increase at five years of service, and a $1,000 pay increase at eight years of service.
- $30 million for a second round of recruitment bonus payments for law enforcement officers who are new to the profession in the state, including those relocating from other states. This initiative would also provide bonus payments of $5,000 to eligible law enforcement officers.
- $20.7 million to support law enforcement efforts to combat the opioid epidemic affecting Florida’s communities.
- $2 million for FDLE to provide body armor to local law enforcement agencies, with a focus on agencies within fiscally constrained counties.
• $1.5 million to provide services for victims of human trafficking, including individualized clinical treatment, behavioral supports such as cognitive behavioral treatment, and motivational interviewing.
Funding for veterans and State Guard:
• $6.2 million to fully support Florida National guardsmen seeking higher education degrees and to expand the program to allow a guardsman to transfer their unused education benefit to a spouse or child.
• $2 million to give a one-time $1,000 bonus to guardsmen who renew their contract.
• $1 million to give $1,000 bonuses to guardsmen who recruit new members into the Florida National Guard.
• $2 million investment to assist veterans in training, networking, and mentoring throughout the state.
Funding for nursing homes:
• $14.7 million to support nursing home residents, medical and non-medical equipment upgrades, capital improvements, and the remainder of the staff needed for the Ardie R. Copas and Alwyn Cashe State Veterans’ Nursing Homes.
Funding for Public Health:
• $166 million in cancer research funding, with $20 million in funding to establish the Florida Cancer Innovation Fund to support groundbreaking cancer research.
• $143 million to enhance services for pregnant and postpartum women and children. This funding also includes $3.8 million to support premiums for families who receive services through the Florida Healthy Kids program and were impacted by Hurricane Ian.
• $96 million to support those served by the child welfare system. Funding will support foster parents and caregivers, community-based services, local prevention grants, and additional family navigators to connect high risk families and children to resources and supports through collaboration with front line child protective investigators.
• $76 million for hospitals that provide in-patient services for acutely ill newborns and pediatric patients.
• $531 million in funding to support a comprehensive array of behavioral health services.
• $334 million is recommended to increase access to treatment such as prevention services, medication assisted treatment, recovery support and continues research, and surveillance activities that seek to reduce overdoses, unemployment, and the incidence of hospitalization and homelessness.
• An additional $9 million to expand services provided by the 17 Memory Disorder Clinics and the Brain Bus to enhance diagnosis and prevention strategies for those impacted by Alzheimer’s disease and other related dementias.
• More than $79.6 million in funding to allow an additional 1,200 individuals in crisis to be served through the Agency for Persons with Disabilities waiver program.