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Gov. Ron DeSantis slashed more than $95 million in South Florida-specific appropriations from Florida’s coming $117.6 billion state budget Monday, canceling funds for hundreds of local projects across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.
The vetoes, detailed in a 39-page line-item letter DeSantis sent to Secretary of State Cord Byrd, are part of $1.6 billion in total state vetoes the Governor announced when he signed the budget.
Broken down by county, Miami-Dade lost the most by far — roughly $55.3 million in local appropriations — while Broward lost about $20.7 million and Palm Beach County saw $19.4 million in canceled state funding.
Miami-Dade County
The single largest South Florida veto was $5 million for security funding for Catholic schools in Miami-Dade, sought by Miami Republican Rep. Mike Redondo, who is in line to be House Speaker in 2030.
In a November request for $15 million, Redondo’s Office wrote that the funds would go to the Archdiocese of Miami to cover security improvements at 68 Catholic schools and preschools, where more than 37,000 children are enrolled across Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties.
DeSantis defended the cut Monday, contrasting the vetoed funds with Florida’s school-choice scholarship program, which has shifted public education dollars to Catholic schools and other private institutions.
He added that he doesn’t want security funding, including money previously apportioned to Jewish day schools, to become “an entitlement” the state would be expected to renew indefinitely.
“We’ve done a lot. I mean, no one has done better for Catholic schools than we have because we have universal school choice,” he said.
“We started with the security with the Jewish day schools because there were specific threats involving some of those schools and we’ve done that. Now that’s grown too, but what I don’t want is for the state to somehow have an entitlement that we’re going to have to fund all the time. There’s other things that have gone to organizations that just don’t share the vision of the state of Florida.”
A few Miami-Dade water and stormwater projects cleared for $2 million apiece were also vetoed, including security upgrades for the county’s water and sewer infrastructure, a water-main capacity upgrade in Homestead and upgrades to Homestead’s Wittkop Park Water Treatment Plant.
A fourth $2 million item for construction improvements at the Wagner Creek embankments between Northwest 20th Street and Northwest 14th Avenue in Miami was also cut.
DeSantis vetoed $2.5 million for the first phase of a north bulkhead improvement project at PortMiami, requested by Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez and Redondo, and $1.7 million for a Homestead Joint Operations Center sought by Rodriguez and state Representative-turned-County Commissioner Vicki Lopez.
He also nixed $1.5 million apiece for a Miami East Flagami flood-mitigation pump station a roller hockey rink at the Palmetto Golf Course.
Other seven-figure cuts included $1.25 million for a Homestead roadway expansion, $1 million for South Miami septic-to-sewer conversions and $1 million for a Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office emergency operations command center in Homestead.
Broward County
Broward’s two largest single vetoes were both worth $2 million: a stormwater mitigation project tied to Hallandale Beach’s Northeast Quad Injection Well System, and a bridge replacement project for Lighthouse Point’s Northeast 31st Court. Both were requested by Sen. Jason Pizzo, a Hollywood independent, with House companion requests filed by Republican Reps. Hillary Cassel of Dania Beach and Chip LaMarca of Lighthouse Point, respectively.
No other Broward line item topped $1 million, though several fell just under that threshold. DeSantis vetoed $994,000 for the second phase of Hallandale Beach’s 8th Avenue roadway reconstruction, $900,000 for a new Southwest Ranches fire station and $895,000 for a multimodal safety and resilience corridor along Pompano Beach’s North Riverside Drive.
Palm Beach County
Palm Beach County’s biggest veto was $4.8 million for a remodel of Palm Beach State College’s Boca Raton administration building, sought in matching funding requests by Senate Democratic Leader Lori Berman of Boynton Beach and Highland Beach Republican Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman.
DeSantis also struck $3 million for a helicopter purchase to support the Health Care District of Palm Beach County’s emergency response operations. A $2 million expansion of the membrane system at Palm Beach County’s Water Treatment Plant No. 8 was also vetoed, along with $1 million apiece for an expansion of Water Treatment Plant No. 2 and renovation of the nonprofit Connections High School and Vocational Center, which serves residents with autism and related disabilities.
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Gabrielle Russon contributed to this report.
The post Gov. DeSantis vetoes $95M in local Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach budget items appeared first on Florida Politics – Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government..
