With the 2023 legislative session now past the halfway mark, Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Florida House, and the Florida Senate have all released their respective budget proposals for the upcoming fiscal year (FY), which begins on July 1, 2023, and ends on June 30, 2024. Gov. Ron DeSantis' FY 2023-24 recommended budget totals $114.8 billion, a 4.3 percent increase over the current-year budget1 of $110 billion. The Florida House and Senate passed their FY 2023-24 budget proposals on April 4, 2023. The House's proposal (HB 5001) totals $113 billion, a 2.7 percent increase over current funding levels, while the Senate's proposal (SB 2500) totals $113.7 billion, a 3.3 percent increase. Both proposals consist of 38-39 percent in General Revenue Fund dollars, 25 percent in State Trust Fund dollars, and 36 percent in federal dollars. Joint Budget Conference Committees will reconcile differences between their proposals.
Below is a rundown of key spending priorities in the House and Senate budgets, with particular emphasis on how these proposals differ from each other and from the current FY 2022-23 budget. It is also important to remember that the state budget is not just an accounting ledger: where and how shared resources are invested impacts every Floridian, making the budget a critical tool for expanding economic security and a statement of the state’s priorities.
Economic and Fiscal Overview
With no personal income tax, the state of Florida depends heavily on sales and excise taxes, which makes the state’s tax system among the most regressive in the country. Florida is the third-most regressive state due to a history of policies that shifted the tax burden on to households with low to moderate income, particularly Floridians of color. The state tax code favors wealthy, predominantly white residents, exacerbating income and racial inequities. Florida also does not levy estate or capital gains taxes, and multistate and multinational corporations can use tax loopholes to avoid state corporate income taxes. Additionally, Florida does not provide targeted tax credits, like the Working Floridians Tax Rebate (WFTR), to offset the impact of sales and excise taxes on families and workers with moderate to low incomes.
For FY 2023-24, much of the debate around the budget has been fueled by the state’s historic tax reserves. However, these reserves are unlikely to be repeated due to unique conditions that boosted Florida’s tax collections. The phase-out of federal COVID-19 policies and a potential recession will affect the state’s economy. During the pandemic, federal stimulus policies provided aid to households, businesses, and state and local governments, boosting reserves, public spending, and preventing poverty. The pandemic also led to a shift in consumer spending from services — mostly sales tax-exempt — to goods, leading to increased sales tax revenue. As spending on services returns to pre-pandemic levels, sales tax collections will decrease. Also, while inflation initially results in higher sales tax collections due to increased prices, persistent inflation can suppress collections as consumers allocate more funds to non-taxable necessities like groceries. Inflation also reduces savings and increases debt, which may prompt consumers to cut spending to repay debt and save. Additionally, a possible recession could force policymakers to make sizable cuts in essential services, prompt teacher layoffs, increase class sizes, and reduce access to health care, child care, infrastructure maintenance, and local services, among other areas.
Overall, policymakers have reserves to make one-time investments in Floridians and public services. These funds should not be used as a reason to justify tax cuts.
For FY 2023-24, Florida's reserves amount to $19 billion. The Unallocated General Revenue Fund balance makes up $15.7 billion, with some funds required to meet appropriations and adjustments throughout the fiscal year. The governor, House, and Senate propose to set aside $4 billion in unallocated general revenue dollars to finance the Moving Florida Forward Plan.2 Additionally, the Budget Stabilization Fund (BSF) holds a balance of $3.1 billion for FY 2023-24. In their proposals, the House suggests transferring an additional $1.3 billion into the BSF, the Senate recommends a transfer of $500 million.3 However, policymakers can only use it to offset a declared deficit or fund an emergency, so access to the BSF is limited.
Overall, policymakers have reserves to make one-time investments in Floridians and public services. These funds should not be used as a reason to justify tax cuts. Instead, policymakers should use the unallocated general revenue to jumpstart programs and policies that will help Floridians thrive in the long term. Also, considering that there is no guarantee that state officials will have access to the same level of reserves in the future, policymakers ought to consider new revenue-raising legislation, like combined reporting (HB 769, SB 1144).
Education
K-12 Funding and Florida Empowerment Scholarships
In 1973, the Florida Education Financing Program (FEFP) was created to equalize per pupil funding so that every student has the programs and services needed to ensure academic success. The FEFP formula accounts for variations in the local tax base, differences in the academic needs of students, and different costs of living for smaller and rural counties. It is based on the needs of individual students. The FEFP uses, in part, a mechanism called "categoricals" for spending categories such as the Teacher Salary Increase Allocation, which is used for teacher raises, the Mental Health Assistance Allocation, and the Safe School Allocation. These categories of funding are created in statute and have requirements on how the funds are allocated. There are a total of 17 categoricals currently.
A major priority for the Legislature this session was passing CS/CS/CS/CS/HB 1, which removed income limits and growth parameters for Florida’s private and home-school vouchers under the Florida Empowerment Scholarship program, making them universal. At an estimated cost of $4 billion, according to FPI and the Education Law Center, this voucher expansion will have significant impacts on K-12 funding and the quality of public education in Florida. While HB 1 was signed into law by the governor, the funding mechanism and amounts for the FEFP, which includes the vouchers, will be negotiated in the budget conference.
Though both the House and Senate budget proposals have similar funding levels for the FEFP, the creation of a separate line item in the Senate version provides transparency around expenditures for vouchers and offers a greater ability to monitor budgetary overruns.
The total FEFP budgets are similar in amounts in both the House and Senate proposals ($14.4 billion and $14.5 billion, respectively) and represent an increase over the current year's $13.6 billion FEFP budget. However, there are two main differences between the proposals:
- The Senate proposal includes a dedicated line item for private and home-school vouchers — students who utilize these are now known as Personalized Education Plan students — totaling $2.2 billion.4 Having a dedicated line item delineates the voucher funds and the public school funds, creating more transparency in how the funds are allocated between the two. It also requires that if the amount budgeted is exceeded by the demand for vouchers, the Legislative Budget Commission must be convened to increase the appropriation. The Senate version also places $350 million in reserves in the event that the line item is an underestimate.5 The House version does not provide a separate line item for vouchers from the FEFP per pupil expenditures; rather, it includes the cost for both the vouchers and the per pupil expenditures in a single line item. The House places $109.7 million in reserves for budget overruns.6
- The House budget proposal makes changes to the FEFP funding formula, which creates an appearance that per pupil spending is higher in the House budget. Of the 17 categoricals, the House budget proposes repealing eight of them and adding the funds attached to these categoricals to the base student allocation. This increases the base student allocation in the House budget to $5,348. However, reapportioning the categoricals does not remove the underlying statutory requirements for each categorical type, diminishing the purported flexibility for school districts resulting from this shift. In contrast, the Senate budget proposal keeps the categoricals intact. The Senate’s base student allocation is $4,594 before adding in the existing categorical funds.
Though both the House and Senate budget proposals have similar funding levels for the FEFP, the creation of a separate line item in the Senate version provides transparency around expenditures for vouchers and offers a greater ability to monitor budgetary overruns. The House’s version needlessly changes the FEFP funding formula to provide an illusion of flexibility and an inflated base student allocation that is not comparable to the Senate’s allocation nor to historical spending patterns.
Early Learning
Florida’s universal pre-kindergarten program, called the Voluntary PreKindergarten Program (VPK), was established through a constitutional amendment in 2002. VPK provides for three hours of PreK instruction for all 4- and 5-year-olds in Florida. Children ages 0 to 13 are eligible for the School Readiness Program, depending on their family income and other factors, such as whether the child has a disability or is concurrently enrolled in Head Start.
The House budget proposal includes a total of $1.5 billion for early learning programs, which includes both VPK and School Readiness. The Senate proposal is slightly higher at $1.6 billion. The House budget proposal includes $1 billion for School Readiness with the majority coming from the federal Child Care and Development Block Grant. Similarly, the Senate version proposes $1.1 billion for School Readiness.8 Both the House and Senate proposals for VPK are substantially lower than the current year’s appropriation of $553.4 million, which includes general revenue and funds from the Child Care and Development Block Grant.7 Both the House and Senate are proposing use of only general revenue funds for VPK for 2023-24. The House proposes to spend $427 million9 and the Senate proposes $407 million.10 Lower amounts are proposed in both versions due to lower projected enrollments. The projected decline in enrollment is also the likely reason for a $35 million rescission of funds to general revenue in the back of the House bill.11
As in the current-year budget, both the House and Senate include $30 million to expand access to School Readiness for families with incomes up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level or 85 percent of the state median income.12 A local match is required to draw down the state funds. This will help expand access to child care assistance for families across the state who continue to struggle with the high cost of quality child care. These funds, however, are contingent on the state receiving federal appropriations, and as such are provided on a non-recurring basis — even though recurring funds would help make this expansion more reliable and provide more stability for families.
Health
Medicaid & Redeterminations
In 2023, for the first time in three years, individuals who receive Medicaid will be redetermined for their eligibility for the program. In January 2020, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) declared a COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). During this time, Floridians enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) were able to keep their coverage without having to re-enroll, a rule referred to as “continuous coverage.” This provision gave states an enhanced federal match on Medicaid dollars and increased Florida’s overall budget for Medicaid. On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, which declared the continuous coverage provision of Medicaid to officially end on March 31, 2023. This redetermination process is an unprecedented task, as there are currently over 5.6 million people in Florida who will undergo this process over the next 12 months.
DCF has released a plan for the redetermination process, but it is unclear if this budget will be sufficient to meet the demands of the department that go beyond call center staffing.
Both the House and Senate propose full funding for the state's Medicaid program, based on forecasts from the Social Services Estimating Conference on Medicaid Caseload and Expenditures. However, state economists and policymakers expect a 14 percent decline in Medicaid caseloads for FY 2023-24. As such, the House sets aside $34.1 billion for Medicaid, a 9.3 percent decrease from the current FY 2022-23 budget.13 The Senate appropriates $34.9 billion, a 7.2 percent reduction.14
The Senate has proposed a lump sum budget of $5.5 million set aside to support the Department of Children and Families’ (DCF’s) Economic Self-Sufficiency Customer Call Center if the projected call volume exceeds the capacity of the department’s workforce due to Medicaid redeterminations.15 DCF has released a plan for the redetermination process, but it is unclear if this budget will be sufficient to meet the demands of the department that go beyond call center staffing.
KidCare
Florida KidCare is the umbrella brand for the four government-sponsored health insurance programs — Medicaid, MediKids, Florida Healthy Kids, and the Children’s Medical Services (CMS) Health Plan — that together provide coverage for Florida children from birth through the end of age 18. The House and Senate both propose increases to Florida’s KidCare programs from the FY 2022-23 budget of $495 million.16 Florida’s Social Services Estimating Conference projected a shortfall of $10.8 million dollars in state funds for Florida’s KidCare programs for FY 2023-24, which have been accounted for in both the House and Senate budget proposals. The House’s budget proposal of $577 million, including $424 million in federal funds,17 is $34 million higher than the Senate’s proposal of $543 million, which includes $400 million in federal funds.18
The House budget proposal also takes into account the potential expansion of KidCare through CS/CS/HB 121, which would increase eligibility from 200 percent to 300 percent of the federal poverty level.19 It is estimated that of the 5.6 million Floridians who will undergo the Medicaid redetermination process, 2.6 million are children. As such, expanding access to KidCare will help to ensure that children do not lose their health coverage. The House’s higher budget comes from specific appropriations to increase the income eligibility threshold for coverage under the Florida KidCare program, should HB 121 or similar legislation become a law.
The House budget proposal also takes into account the potential expansion of KidCare through CS/CS/HB 121, which would increase eligibility from 200 percent to 300 percent of the federal poverty level.
Home & Community Based Services Wait Lists
Home and community based services (HCBS) provide opportunities for Floridians living on low income, including Medicaid beneficiaries, to receive services in their own home or community rather than institutions or other isolated settings. These programs serve a variety of targeted populations, such as people with intellectual or developmental disabilities, physical disabilities, and/or mental illnesses. Massive waitlists and slight annual increases for HCBS have left thousands of Floridians without care for years. Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the demand for HCBS has increased substantially, especially among older, homebound adults.
The House and Senate propose the following funding levels to help remove individuals from these waitlists. It should be noted that even with these funds, there is still a large number of individuals on the waitlists who will not be served:
- $79.5 million,20 an increase of $20 million from FY 2022-23, to serve approximately 377 individuals on the Agency for Persons with Disabilities Waiver waitlist.21 Currently there are 23,372 individuals on this waitlist.
- $4 million from the House, and $3.6 million from the Senate,22 to serve approximately 400 individuals from the Alzheimer’s Disease Initiative waitlist.23 This is a decrease of approximately $8 million over FY 202-23. There are currently 16,152 individuals on this waitlist.
- $2 million from the House and $3.4 million from the Senate to serve approximately 226 to 384 individuals on the Community Care for the Elderly Program waitlist.24 This is a decrease of roughly $7 million from FY 2022-23.25 There are currently 78,057 individuals on this waitlist.
- $3 million from the House and Senate to serve approximately 1,563 individuals on the Home Care for the Elderly Program waitlist.26,27 There were no funds allocated for this in FY 2022-23. There are currently 19,784 individuals on this waitlist. Unlike the House, the Senate indicates in their proposal that these funds would be recurring, therefore could be continued to impact this waitlist for the long-term.
Criminal Justice & Corrections
Workforce & Education Programming
Rehabilitation and transition support, along with educational programming, are crucial services that substantially impact the lives of those who are in prison. These programs offer them tools and opportunities to aid in their rehabilitation process and re-entry into their communities.
The proposed increase for basic education is very much needed, and it would go a long way in helping to ameliorate the current educational landscape in Florida’s prisons.
The two budgets increase funding to the Department of Corrections from the current year, though they differ in their total allocations, with the Senate recommending $10 million more than the House.28 Additionally, the Senate recommends $79.5 million for basic education whereas the House offers significantly less, $52.4 million.29 Despite the stark difference between the two budget proposals, they still provided commendable increases in funding compared to the current year’s allocation of $43 million. For transitional and rehabilitation and support programs, the House and Senate propose $15.6 million and $13.9 million, respectively.30
The proposed increase for basic education is very much needed, and it would go a long way in helping to ameliorate the current educational landscape in Florida’s prisons. The Department of Corrections reported that nearly 73 percent of the state’s incarcerated population younger than 22 years of age did not have a high school diploma nor a GED. The current FY 2022-23 funding level is relatively the same as the year prior (FY 2021-22), which failed to provide any impactful relief. As a result, this increase is a major step in the right direction.
Environment
Florida Forever
Florida Forever is a critical program that allows the state to acquire and preserve ecologically important land and prevent future environmental problems, including over-development. The current budget allocates $110.7 million to Florida Forever,31 the highest appropriation to the program in 14 years. Both the House’s and Senate’s FY 2023-24 proposals elevate funding even more, recommending $251.2 million and $400 million,32 respectively.
Since the Great Recession, legislators have not maintained Florida Forever’s $300-million minimum authorized under the Preservation 2000 Act and voter-passed Amendment 1 (“Florida Water and Land Legacy”) in 2014. Thus, the more impactful and higher Senate proposal of $400 million would represent the first time the program has been fully funded since 2009.
Red Tide Mitigation
Red tide (a.k.a. harmful algae bloom) is an abnormal concentration of microscopic plantlike organisms off Florida’s coast that presents a threat to tourism, wildlife, and health. Even at low concentrations, red tide is harmful to people and fish, causing respiratory and skin irritation in the former and potential death in the latter. Concentrations were especially high this Spring along Florida’s west coast, and some local governments canceled beach activities as a result.
This year, the state budgeted $26.4 million for red tide research and grants.33 The House wants to cut that funding by $5.5 million (a 21 percent decrease), while the Senate proposes to increase it by $9.5 million (a 36 percent increase).34 Amid recent spikes in red tide that could negatively impact Floridians, wildlife, and tourism, cuts to red tide projects are ill-advised. Red tide has been a threat to Florida for centuries and will remain so. The Senate’s proposal to increase funding is a step in the right direction.
Housing
Affordable Housing is overseen by the Florida Housing Finance Corporation (FHFC). The FHFC utilizes money transferred from the General Revenue Fund, the State Housing Trust Fund, and the Local Government Housing Trust Fund.35 Any money appropriated from the Local Government Trust Fund goes towards the State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) program. Money apportioned from the State Housing Trust Fund goes towards the State Apartment Incentive Loan Program (SAIL). These two trust funds make up the Sadowski Housing Trust Fund. SHIP funds are grants available to local governments and SAIL funds are loans available to the private sector. All of these funds must be used for affordable housing.
Despite making some longer-term investments in affordable housing development, there are significant concerns with the Live Local Act.
The House and Senate bills both allocate general revenue dollars of $33 million to the State Housing Trust Fund and $77 million to the Local Government Housing Trust Fund. According to the bills, these funds are to “offset revenue loss estimates,” which is likely due to higher mortgage rates and decline in home sales. Unlike the governor’s budget proposal, which provides $502.7 million to the FHFC (a $140 million increase), the House and Senate proposals do not include an appropriation for the FHFC.36 A priority for the Legislature this session was the passage of the Live Local Act, which was touted as a major investment in easing Florida’s affordable housing crisis. However, neither budget proposal indicates how much funding will be attributed to the Live Local Act — which will mainly flow through the SAIL program — or the already-existing allocation for the Sadowski Trust Fund. The current-year budget,37 as in years past, includes separate line items for the appropriations for each trust fund.
Despite making some longer-term investments in affordable housing development, there are significant concerns with the Live Local Act. In regard to the funding, the final FY 2023-24 budget should include full transparency on the flow of dollars to the various trust funds, in order to assess the impact of the new law. This will be particularly important starting in FY 2024-25 as the impacts of the Live Local Act increase. Clarity on the anticipated revenue loss would also help in ensuring that adequate funds are allocated in the long term to maintain this investment.
Safety Net
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
Neither the House nor the Senate propose to increase payment levels in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, even though TANF payments have not been updated in over 30 years.38 TANF provides cash assistance on a temporary basis to families with children at a time when the family is most in need, such as during a medical crisis or divorce, or when the breadwinner experiences a loss of income. The program is supposed to help struggling families provide basic essentials for their children without having to resort to foster care, an alternative that costs the state much more than TANF and rips the family apart just because of their financial situation.
Although it holds great promise, Florida’s TANF program does a poor job of reaching and assisting families with low income to meet the needs of their children and purchase items like diapers, soap, school supplies, and clothes. The reason that few families are eligible for TANF in Florida is due, in part, to the fact that maximum benefit payments (e.g., $303 for a family of three) have not changed in three decades. The most income that a three-person family in Florida who is applying for TANF can earn and still qualify for the program is roughly $393 a month — only 19 percent of the poverty level — which is one of the lowest thresholds in the country. Because Florida sets its own TANF payment standard, the House and Senate should increase TANF payment benefits to give more families with low income the ability to participate in the program, meet the basic needs of their children, and provide them a chance to thrive.
Neither the House nor the Senate propose to increase payment levels in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, even though TANF payments have not been updated in over 30 years.
Food Insecurity
In the U.S. Census Bureau’s biweekly survey, which collects data on the continuing effects of the pandemic on people’s lives, 14 percent of households in Florida that reported on their food sufficiency for March 1, 2023, through March 13, 2023, say that they often or sometimes did not have enough to eat in the past week. However, both the House and Senate miss opportunities to address food insecurity among households who continue to struggle to put food on the table, particularly in areas where it is difficult to buy affordable, nutritious food:
- Both chambers propose almost $27 million to modernize the Department of Children and Families’ (DCF’s) outdated Automated Community Connection to Economic Self Sufficiency (ACCESS),39 the agency’s web platform for Floridians who participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other safety net programs. Yet only the Senate has proposed specific funding ($5.3 million) to provide resources for DCF to address workload deficiencies and increased call volume in its customer call centers.40 Although call centers are critical to the operation of Florida’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), inadequate staffing and a spike in demand are wreaking havoc on the ability of call centers to meet the needs of people who are applying for or participating in the program.
- Neither the House nor the Senate proposes to fund the Healthy SNAP Incentive Program, which would allow SNAP participants in targeted rural communities to purchase healthier foods by expanding the existing Fresh Access Bucks program (FAB). FAB matches every SNAP dollar spent at farmers markets, farm stands, and some grocery stores, with an additional dollar in benefits to use on fresh fruits and vegetables.
- The House earmarks $600,000 less for support of food banks than the Senate.41 The House also does not authorize the $7.7 million appropriated in the Senate budget to conduct a statewide study of food insecurity in Florida.42
Both chambers should reexamine their funding proposals for projects that impact food-insecure Floridians. Through more adequate funding to address hunger, Florida can better ensure access to affordable, healthy food, which is critical to improving the short- and long-term health, education, and economic security of food-insecure households.
Immigration
Unauthorized "Alien" Transport Program
Currently, the state appropriates $12 million from interest received from the federal government for COVID-19 recovery to “facilitate the transfer of unauthorized aliens out of the state,” including subcontracting to private transportation companies to do so.43 Despite national outcry, the Legislature made this initiative permanent (the “Unauthorized Alien Transport Program”) in this year’s special session with SB 6-B, which is now law.
The House appropriates $12 million for FY 2023-24, while the Senate does not recommend additional funding.44 Targeting immigrants — regardless of their documentation status — and diverting any revenue to this program is harmful not only for immigrants, but for all of our communities. The Legislature should adopt the Senate proposal with no new funding and ultimately repeal SB 6-B altogether.
Despite national outcry, the Legislature made this initiative permanent (the “Unauthorized Alien Transport Program”) in this year’s special session with SB 6-B, which is now law.
Notes
1 Florida Policy Institute defines current-year funding in this report as FY 2022-23 appropriations, plus vetoes. FPI does not include adjustments and supplemental funding in calculations of current-year funding levels.
2 HB 5001, Section 152; SB 2500, Section 189
3 HB 5001, Section 162; SB 2500, Section 206
4 SB2500, Line 81A
5 SB 2500, Section 61
6 HB 5001, Section 28
7 HB 5001, Line Item 77
8 SB 2500, Line Item 77
9 HB 5001, Line Item 79
10 SB 2500, Line Item 79
11 HB 5001, Section 27
12 SB 2500 and HB 5001, Line Item 77
13 HB 5001, Line Items 197-215 & Line Items 216-223
14 SB 2500, Line Items 197-215 & Line Items 216-223
15 SB 2500, Line Item 349
16 2022 GAA, Line Items 176-181
17 HB 5001, Line Items 176-181
18 SB 2500, Line Items 176-181
19 Note: HB 5001 proviso language for line items 176 through 181 clarifies "From the funds in Specific Appropriations 176 through 181, $9,947,378 from the General Revenue Fund and $24,707,662 from the Medical Care Trust Fund are provided to increase the income eligibility threshold for coverage under the Florida KidCare program, contingent upon HB 121 or similar legislation becoming law".
20 HB 5001; SB 2500 Line Item 241
21 Note: Persons served is calculated by the APD estimate of $53,100 annually per person on the waiver. http://floridafiscalportal.state.fl.us/Document.aspx?ID=24394&DocType=PDF See pg. 8.
22 HB 5001; SB 2500 Line Item 401
23 Note: Persons served is calculated by the DEA estimate of $10,000 per client on the waitlist http://floridafiscalportal.state.fl.us/Document.aspx?ID=23611&DocType=PDF. Every million of additional funding is about 113 people served for the year.
24 Note: Persons served is calculated by the DEA estimate of $8,817 per client.
25 HB 5001; SB 2500 Line Item 402
26 HB 5001; SB 2500 Line Item 402
27 Note: Persons Served is calculated by the DEA annual cost of $1,920 per client. https://elderaffairs.org/programs-services/caregiving/home-care-for-the-elderly-hce-program/
28 SB 2500; HB 5001 Line Items 598-753
29 SB 2500; HB 5001 Line Items 736-744
30 SB 2500; HB 5001 Line Items 745-750
31 The Florida Legislature, General Appropriations Act (2022-23), line items 1602; 1754.
32 HB 5001 (2023-24) and SB 2500 (2023-24), line items 1472A; 1641; 1642; 1796.
33 2022-23 GAA, line items 1645; 1646; 1665A (Naples bay Red Tide/Septic Tank Mitigation, $500,000); 1931; 1932. Note: Line item 1933 allocates $600,000 to harmful algae blooms, but does not specify in proviso language if that includes red tide funding, as the Senate and Governor’s proposals do. Blue-green algae is another type of harmful bloom, so 1933 is excluded from FPI’s analysis. If it were included, current-year funding would be $27 million.
34 HB 5001 (2023-24), line items 1683; 1684; 1984; 1985; SB 2500 (2023-24), line items 1683; 1684; 1688; 1705A (Naples Bay/Red Tide Septic Tank Migration, $10 million); 1984; 1985. Note: HB 5001 line item 1688 proposes $5 million for harmful algae blooms, but does not specify in proviso language if that includes red tide funding, so 1688 is excluded from FPI’s analysis. If it were included, the House would still be proposing a cut of $10+ million.
35 HB 5001, Line Item 139; SB 2500, Line Item 203.
36 Governor’s bill, P. 272. Compare, 2022-23 GAA, P. 356.
37 2022-23 GAA, P. 356.
38 HB 5001, Line Item 361; SB 2500, Line Item 361.
39 HB 5001, Line Item 301; SB 2500, Line Item 301.
40 SB 2500, Line Item 349.
41 Compare HB 5001, Line Item 1589A; SB 2500, Line Item 1589A.
42 SB 2500, Line Item 1590.
43 2022-23 GAA, section 185.
44 HB 5001 (2023-24), line item 2708A; SB 2500 (2023-24), section 183. Note: Section 183 states that any unused 2022-23 funds will carry over to the 2023-24 fiscal year (starting July 1).
