As Florida House members looked at a long list of water-related projects vetoed last year by Gov. Ron DeSantis, the chair of a panel surmised that many projects apparently deserved to be axed.
Rep. Michelle Salzman, a Pensacola Republican who chairs the House combined workgroup on vetoed water programs, said local officials have told her that, in many cases, they have moved on since DeSantis issued the vetoes in June.
House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, formed four workgroups to consider veto overrides that convened this last week.
“A lot of them (local officials) said, ‘You know, we're good. The veto is fine. We're applying for money through grants or we’ve reapplied this year, and we're confident we're going to get across the finish line,’” Salzman said Tuesday.
“So, having that dialogue with folks that have skin in the game on the 160 projects really gets us to say, 'Well, a lot of these actually should have been vetoed,' because the members didn't put that as their priority for now. They're going to put it as a priority for later. Or they had a second plan and they're implementing that, that second plan,” Salzman added.
Salzman’s panel looked at a list of 160 projects totaling $250 million. On Wednesday, panel members agreed on 22 that could be considered for overrides. Those projects totaled $36,741,100.
Projects eyed for overrides included $4 million to convert 88 homes in Cocoa City from septic systems to central sewer service, $5 million to expand the LaBelle water treatment facility in Hendry County, and $3 million for a reclaimed water pipeline for a new development in Niceville.
The short list might get even shorter if any of the 22 projects are included in the Department of Environmental Protection’s Water Quality Improvement Grant Program that Salzman expects to be released “in the near future.”
The four workgroups have looked at vetoes in different parts of the budget. The others have focused on vetoes in health services, justice services, and libraries, cultural and historic preservation.
Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, has been less enthused than Perez about the possibility of overriding vetoes.
Salzman said the review has improved the “dialogue” between lawmakers, who now have a better understanding of needs outside their districts, and local governments.
“While we’re not saying that these projects that we’re recommending to the House speaker will make it to the House floor. We’re not saying that the Senate is going to take them on,” Salzman said Wednesday. “But what we can say is what we did was effective, efficient and definitely benefited Floridians and even ourselves."
