Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed legislation to make local governments put more budget details online and require local officials to do a “budget cutting exercise” ahead of the budget vote.
“With the legislation today, Floridians will have more transparency into how their local governments are spending their money and in a more accessible format,” Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia said at a news conference in Bradenton.
There, DeSantis said he was signing HB 1329, which requires local officials to identify ways to cut their proposed budget by 10% without reducing essential services. Those ideas would be required to be posted online.
Local governments will also be required to list online all budget information, including a summary of department expenses, debt obligation expenses, capital projects, and more.
The law will also require each county to prepare a quarterly report with all employees’ names, titles and salaries for all locally funded positions.
Democrats against the measure pointed out that counties are already putting their budget information online, calling the changes redundant and saying they are another layer of bureaucracy.
“We’re just becoming so obsessed and we’re creating enemies where we don’t need to,” said Rep. Lindsay Cross, a St. Petersburg Democrat, during a House Committee in February.
“Our local governments are already providing information about budgets, but the idea that we have to post and make it searchable the salary for every single person, our sanitation workers, maybe someone who cleans the municipal building, the travel expenses for every single mile traveled — I think it’s ridiculous.”
The law also changes some of the language regarding local impact fees.
At Wednesday’s event, DeSantis also signed SB 4F, which amends the maximum millage rate calculations for local governments.
“Under current law, local governments can benefit from complicated formulas that allow them to take in more money from taxpayers even when they are claiming even when they are not technically raising tax rates,” DeSantis said.
“This bill cuts through that concern by strengthening safeguards against local property tax increases. It changes how local governments calculate the maximum property tax rate they can adopt with a simple majority vote.”
DeSantis signed the legislation as he has gone to war with local governments over their spending.
At DeSantis’ urging, the Legislature has placed an initiative on the November ballot to overhaul local property taxes. Local officials have said if voters approve it, the consequences would be a drastic reduction in local government services from libraries to Fire Departments and more.
At Wednesday’s press conference, DeSantis challenged local governments to spend less and pointed to the 2026-27 fiscal year budget he is currently reviewing on his desk.
“When I finish all that, it will represent the fourth straight year where the state of Florida has reduced the amount of spending at the state level,” DeSantis said, pointing out that the leaner budget comes despite inflation and population growth.
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