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Gov. Ron DeSantis speakingGov. Ron DeSantis speaking
Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks May 1, 2025, during a news conference about immigration enforcement at the South Florida office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Enforcement and Removal Operations in Miramar. | Rebecca Blackwell, AP

DeSantis vetoes millions budgeted for First Coast programs

By Mike Mendenhall
Published on July 3, 2025 at 3:44 pm
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Gov. Ron DeSantis this week vetoed nearly $19.5 million from the state budget that would have benefited a range of programs in Northeast Florida, from nursing training to drainage improvements, traffic control, career programs and youth sports.

The money was among $1.35 billion that DeSantis stripped from the 2025-26 spending plan approved by the Florida Legislature, including $567 million in line-item vetos. The governor signed a $117.4 billion budget Monday.

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The vetoes included $6.25 million meant to kick-start plans to return the Ocklawaha River to its natural state by removing the Rodman Dam in Putnam County.

DeSantis’ veto pen also marked through several multimillion-dollar appropriations that would have come to Jacksonville.

He cut $2.66 million of the $4 million lawmakers approved for Jacksonville University’s GROW program, which stands for Graduate, Retain and Optimize a Workforce of Florida Nurses. JU has been expanding its program for accelerated bachelor’s and graduate degrees in nursing since 2021 through partnership with The Mayo Clinic, Baptist Health and Flagler College.

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Sen. Clay Yarborough and Rep. Wyman Duggan, both Jacksonville Republicans, originally pushed for $4.5 million to be included for the GROW program in the state budget.

In an emailed statement to Jacksonville Today, the school’s senior director of communications, Matt Harris, said Jacksonville University is “grateful for the continued support from the state and the $1.34 million received for GROW.”

The governor also rejected state funding for two infrastructure projects in Jacksonville requested by Duggan and Democratic Sen. Tracie Davis — $2 million to improve drainage along Armsdale Road, and $1.42 million to cover design and construction costs for a new traffic signal at Edenfield Road and University Boulevard.

DeSantis’ broader vetoes slashed $4.44 million in state funding for local public television stations and $1.3 million for public radio outlets in Florida. David McGowan, president and CEO of WJCT Public Media, said the cut will take about $470,000 in annual state funding from the Northeast Florida PBS and NPR affiliate.

“I am extremely disappointed with the governor’s decision to use his veto authority to eliminate funding for the Community Service Grants which have supported the work of local public television and radio stations across the state, including WJCT Public Media in NE Florida, for decades,” McGowan said in an email Tuesday. “Our work in communities has enjoyed broad bi-partisan support from the Legislature, Department of Education, and the Governor’s Office — including Governor DeSantis.

“Florida’s investment in public media and in WJCT has been a highly effective public/private partnership since the 1970s, yielding impressive returns in early childhood education, public safety, access to local arts and culture, and nonpartisan local news. For WJCT Public Media, the loss will represent approximately $470K per year — funding which has served as part of the foundation of support for our local public service in Jacksonville and beyond.”

(Disclosure: Jacksonville Today is independent and locally owned and operated by WJCT Public Media.)

Here’s a list of other projects and programs vetoed from the state budget:

author image Associate Editor email Jacksonville Today Associate Editor Mike Mendenhall focuses on Jacksonville City Hall and the Florida Legislature. A native Iowan, he previously led the Des Moines Business Record newsroom and served as associate editor of government affairs at the Jacksonville Daily Record, where he twice won Florida Press Association TaxWatch Awards for his in-depth coverage of Jacksonville’s city budget. Mike’s work at the Daily Record also included reporting on Downtown development, JEA and the city’s independent authorities, and he was a frequent contributor to WJCT News 89.9 and News4Jax.

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