Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at VyStar Credit Union in Jacksonville on May 2, 2024. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
Published on June 13, 2024 at 1:07 pm
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Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the state’s $116.5 billion budget Wednesday, but that was about $1 billion less than what Florida legislators recommended.
DeSantis said he decided to bolster the state’s reserves, which he said are now $17 billion, by vetoing $1 billion in funding for projects around the state.
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DeSantis cut funding for at least 70 projects or programs in the Jacksonville area, News4Jax reported.
These are some of the notable projects and groups that missed out this year:
- CR 217 Bridge Safety Improvements and Replacement, Clay County — $2.5 million.
- JAXPORT Crane Modernization Program — $3 million.
- Jacksonville University GROW Florida Nurses Program — $2.9 million.
- Florida State College at Jacksonville, nursing program facilities — $2.8 million.
- Delores Barr Weaver Policy Center, Girl Matters: Continuity of Care — $500,000.
- First Coast High School Pedestrian Signal — $500,000.
- CR 108 Extension, Nassau County — $3.7 million.
- Putnam County Waste Water Treatment Expansion — $4.2 million.
- St. Johns County, Central Public Safety Station — $7.5 million.
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According to the Florida Times Union, DeSantis approved:
- $75 million for a University of Florida graduate campus in Jacksonville.
- $40.2 million for a student support and academic building at the University of North Florida.
- $35 million to renovate Hotel Ponce de Leon at Flagler College in St. Augustine.
- $15 million for UF Health Jacksonville.
- $5 million for the Ocearch research and operations center in Mayport.
- $5 million for the new Museum of Science & History on the Northbank.
- $5 million to enhance security at Edward Waters University, part of $20 million for security at the state’s four historically Black colleges and universities.
To read the full veto list, click here. To read the veto messages, click here.
This story was produced in part by News4Jax, a Jacksonville Today news partner.
