In a $116.5 billion budget, not even a $10,000 item was small enough to escape Gov. Ron DeSantis’ veto.
Republican Rep. Daniel Alvarez’s request for $10,000 for Hillsborough County Habitat for Humanity, to help build homes for veterans, amounted to the smallest request DeSantis’ veto pen stripped out of the budget. And Rep. Robin Bartleman’s request for $12,000 to fund the Weston Music Society’s School Music Program and Music Grants came in as the second-smallest item to fall in the veto purge that trimmed state expenses by a little more than half a billion dollars..
It’s the second year that the Weston Democrat’s request for state money to cover items such as musical instruments, concerts and band uniforms has made it into the budget, only to get vetoed. But she’s vowing to bring it back again.
The cuts don’t seem to have any rhyme or reason, said Democratic Rep. Michael Gottlieb, who represents south Broward County and watched his $450,000 appropriation for an all-inclusive playground in Plantation get excised in Thursday’s veto announcement.
“Especially in light of the fact that we’re constantly hearing that the Florida economy is robust and there’s an excess amount of money in reserve,” said Gottlieb, who served as the Democrats’ floor leader this year.
The House Democratic Office did a spreadsheet suggesting there was some logic behind the vetoes, however. Their analysis showed that although Democrats account for less than a third of House members, their projects accounted for 42% of those vetoed.
Democratic Rep. Daryl Campbell, who represents central Broward County, said he was surprised to see $857,000 worth of parks projects in two locations disappear just like that.
“While I’m down, I’m going to keep fighting for my community,” he said.
Democrat Rep. Ashley Gantt, also a freshman lawmaker, saw an agenda. Three out of four items that had gotten in the budget were vetoed — amounting to $850,000 in spending that would have reached seniors and youth gone.
“A clear message has been received, Black Floridians suffer under this Governor’s administration due to partisan political theatre,” the Miami area lawmaker said in a prepared statement.
Still, Stuart Republican Rep. John Snyder was at the Fort Pierce budget signing with the Governor and then later learned that more than $1.5 million he had gotten into the budget was now no longer happening. The cuts were about $500,000 apiece for arts spending, hurricane hardening for the Arc of Palm Beach County’s South Campus, serving developmentally disabled citizens, and an unmanned aerial response team for the Palm Beach County Sheriff.
When texted about the vetoes, Snyder texted back: “I was proud to stand with Governor DeSantis today as he signed a truly historic budget into law. Where Washington, D.C. continues to get it wrong, Florida is setting the standard with a balanced budget, $10 billion in reserves, and a $2.3 billion tax cut.”
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