DeSantis Would Spend Nearly $100 Million Next Year; Biden Bucks Would Help Him Do It

Florida Phoenix

December 9, 2021

Gov. Ron DeSantis will ask the Florida Legislature to spend $99.7 billion during the fiscal year that begins July 1 —a retrenchment from the $101.5 billion budget for the current fiscal year, which was fattened by billions in federal COVID assistance.

Even so, the spending plan would allow “record funding for key priorities such as education, our environmental resources, as well as support for law enforcement — all while maintaining an historic amount of reserves: more than $15 billion,” the governor said during a news conference in the state Capitol.

Those numbers might not be the last word, however, if tax revenues continue to exceed expectations, as they have for the past year, due to increased consumer spending and a generally healthy state economy — again, propped up by federal relief but also, according to DeSantis, by his policy of keeping businesses and schools open notwithstanding the pandemic.

“By the time this budget takes effect, we would potentially have $17 billion in reserves by July 1, 2022,” the governor said.

That’s too much money in the piggy bank, according to Democrats including Carlos Guillermo Smith, a state House member from Orange County, speaking during a Zoom news conference.

“Look, $15 billion — billion with a “B” — leaving that in reserves in a time when Floridians are struggling with a number of crises is not a responsible budget,” Smith said. Better to spend another couple of hundred million on affordable housing, he suggested, or shortening the wait list for disability services.

In any event, DeSantis’ “Freedom First Budget” states his priorities, but the Legislature, set to convene on Jan. 11, will have its own ideas.

Other House Democrats found it notable that DeSantis has been so critical of President Joe Biden but relies on federal COVID dollars to finance his budget. (It’s normal for federal funds to be a part of state budgets but the pandemic assistance layers massively on top of that.)

As the governor himself pointed out, the state is still awaiting half of the $3.5 billion the feds have pledged in COVID assistance; it’s due next spring.

“As the governor continuously attacks President Biden, attacks the federal government and the administration, the reality is that we could not balance this budget or even give out tax breaks if it wasn’t for President Joe Biden,” Orange County’s Anna Eskamani claimed during the Zoom conference.

Nikki Fried, the Democratic state commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services who’s seeking her party’s nomination to run against DeSantis next year, also picked up on that point.

“Instead of blasting the president, Gov. DeSantis should be thanking the Biden administration for stepping up and providing the support needed to address the state’s problems that the governor has not only failed to fix but too often ignored,” Fried said in a written statement.

Brewster Bevis, president of the pro-business Associated Industries of Florida, praised the governor’s plan, however, as “fostering freedom and prosperity.”

“This proposed budget continues that important work with significant investments in our environment and science-based water quality projects, a high-quality education system, vital transportation projects, and workforce development,” Bevis said in his own written statement.

Here are some key elements of DeSantis’ proposals:

During his news conference, DeSantis claimed his policies have spared the state “draconian budget cuts.”

He pushed back against his Democratic critics, arguing that his policies — including opening schools and banning workplace vaccine mandates without opt-outs — have saved working Floridians’ jobs. By contrast, the governor savaged Biden’s “inflationary policies.”

“I just don’t see how you can say you’re standing up for everyday people if you think that they should lose their jobs,” DeSantis said.

Democrats, however, complained the budget wouldn’t do enough to provide affordable housing and medical care for needy Floridians or make the state’s regressive tax structure more equitable.

The governor’s budget would advance some Democratic goals in schools, affordable housing, college tuition, infrastructure, and the environment, but not to the degree they think necessary, said Rep. Angie Nixon of Duval County.

“If the Legislature falls short, governor, you need to veto that budget,” Nixon said.

“We’re not being dramatic when we say that the governor is very reliant on federal funds. And it wouldn’t be as important as a point if he wasn’t continuously villainizing the federal government,” Eskamani said.

“Which is all tied to his own political ambitions, of trying to contrast himself with President Joe Biden, as we know what the governor’s political motivations are beyond his governorship,” she said.

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