Overview
- Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the FY 2026‑27 budget in Tampa and applied line‑item vetoes that removed roughly $810 million in direct appropriations plus a vetoed $750 million transfer to the Budget Stabilization Fund for a reported total near $1.6–$1.7 billion, a move announced Monday.
- The enacted $117.6 billion plan keeps DeSantis’s top priorities intact including about $30 billion for K‑12 education with roughly $1.56 billion for teacher pay and $665 million for Everglades restoration while the state expects to end the year with about $18 billion in reserves.
- DeSantis vetoed the companion prisons/bonding bill HB 5403E, undoing a legislative pledge of $50 million per year for 40 years for prison construction and removing tied corrections pay increases, which critics say will leave needed staffing and facilities investments unsettled.
- The veto list cancels hundreds of local and discretionary projects and cuts more than $95 million from Miami‑Dade, Broward and Palm Beach county appropriations, with losses concentrated in school security, stormwater and small infrastructure grants.
- Despite the cuts, numerous narrowly tailored and vendor‑linked line items survived the final bill, prompting renewed scrutiny of procurement and campaign‑finance ties and leaving lawmakers with limited political appetite or votes to override the governor’s pen.