As the Florida House and Senate prepare to formally negotiate a budget, their proposals are sprinkled with spending on local projects and programs — and potential line-item veto targets for Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The Senate’s $117.36 billion budget plan (SB 2500) includes nearly $1.27 billion tied to about 1,140 projects that individual senators proposed for such things as local parks, schools, emergency management, roads, museums and cultural groups.
In the House’s $112.95 billion plan (HB 5001), about 1,320 projects submitted by individual members account for nearly $1.22 billion.
Many of the proposals overlap, such as $40 million for a new building to provide classrooms, teaching labs, offices and auditorium space as part of the Florida A&M University-Florida State University College of Engineering.
Meanwhile, a large number of proposals appear in both packages, but with different amounts of money.
As an example, the Senate spending plan has $505 million for water and wastewater projects, including $750,000 for a Bartow wastewater master plan. The House has $375,000 for the Bartow plan as part of $193.2 million in water and wastewater projects.
Many other proposals are backed by one chamber, but not the other.
The House and the Senate last week passed their spending plans, setting the stage for negotiations in the coming weeks on a final budget for the fiscal year that will start July 1. Legislative leaders have said they are trying to hold down spending this year.
Also, with DeSantis feuding with the House on a variety of issues, he could flex his line-item veto power when the budget ultimately hits his desk.
While they are a relatively small part of the overall budget, spending on local projects and programs always draws attention. Lawmakers want to bring money home to their districts, while lobbyists jockey to get their clients’ priorities in the budget.
Lawmakers’ requests increased over the past few years, as federal money stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic flooded into the state.
Spending on such projects and programs grew from $174 million in 2019 to $1.3 billion in 2024.
And the requests didn’t let up this year.
Members of the Senate submitted 2,550 proposals that would require nearly $5.8 billion to cover. In the House, 2,694 projects were submitted seeking a total of $6.045 billion.
Last year, senators filed 2,695 requests that would have cost $7.3 billion. House members put forward 3,167 proposals that would have required $8.8 billion. Like this year’s requests, many of those proposals overlapped.
DeSantis vetoed about $950 million in spending from the fiscal 2024-2025 budget, which took effect July 1. That included more than $200 million in water projects and $32 million in cultural and museum grants.
The House’s proposed 2025-2026 budget includes nearly $6.53 million in cultural and museum grants. The Senate proposal calls for $26.8 million, with $5 million held in reserves pending scoring by the Department of State.
