State budget: What First Coast projects survived DeSantis’ veto and what got cut

Gov. Ron DeSantis used his veto pen to cut nearly $18 million in Northeast Florida projects the Florida Legislature included in this year’s state budget.

The cuts were part of nearly $810 million in local projects DeSantis vetoed from the state’s $117.6 billion spending plan for the 2026-27 fiscal year — his final state budget as governor. 

• Among the cuts were $1.75 million from restroom buildings at the new Jacksonville fairgrounds under construction on the Westside, sponsored by Republican Rep. Wyann Duggan in the House and Democrat Sen. Tracie Davis in the Senate. DeSantis allowed $3.5 million in last year’s budget for the fairgrounds’ second phase. 

• The governor also eliminated a total of $1 million for Edward Waters University’s Living, Learning, and Community Multiplex, which also received $2 million in support from the city earlier this year.

• A pair of $750,000 vetoes also cut funding for an 11th and 12th Street Connector project and the Hogan Street Emerald Trail segment from Union to First streets in Jacksonville.

• For St. Johns County, the governor vetoed Rep. Sam Greco and Sen. Thomas Leek’s $1.5 million request for design and construction of resilient infrastructure on Anastasia Boulevard in St. Augustine that included a fire station.  

During a news conference Monday, the governor touted his line-item veto record, which is about $10.6 billion total during his eight years in office. 

“I’m not trying to set a veto record. I already did set that record,” DeSantis said. “But I did want to make sure the budget (was) reduced. And it didn’t have to be reduced by $5 billion, but it had to be lower. … Within that, we wanted to accommodate a lot of the priorities that the folks in the Legislature had.”

What survived

The governor left tens of millions of dollars for First Coast projects in the budget. The state will invest $2 million in the city of Jacksonville’s push to get the Culinary Institute of America to bring its Southeast U.S. campus to the Downtown riverfront. 

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The final state budget also keeps $1.25 million for the Jacksonville Museum of Science & History’s proposed $131 million new Downtown Northbank facility. 

There’s also $5 million for fencing, bollards, lighting, and landscaping around the east side of Downtown Jacksonville to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety around the $2 billion Pearl Square neighborhood, currently under construction.

Here is the list of local project funding from the Legislature that survived in the final budget: 

In the budget: Jacksonville and Duval County

• Jacksonville Regional Corridor — Interstate 295 to U.S. — $8.1 million
• Jacksonville — Wigmore Street Vehicle Overpass — $5 million
• Improving Safety & Security in Downtown Jacksonville — $5 million
• Jacksonville Classical Academy Expansion — $3 million
• Culinary Institute of America — Downtown Jacksonville Campus — $2 million
• Jacksonville University Accelerated Nursing Programs — $2 million
• Jacksonville University Entrepreneurism, Policy, Innovation, and Commerce Program — $2 million
• UF Health Jacksonville operating support — $1.5 million
• University of Florida (Jacksonville) — $1,276,630
• Jacksonville Museum of Science & History Genesis — $1.25 million
• Jacksonville — McCoys Creek Park — $1 million
• Jacksonville — Baymeadows Road Crosswalk Improvements — $972,000
• Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office — Drone First Responder Program — $610,000
• Her Song Jacksonville — Survivor Care for Victims of  Human Trafficking — $500,000
• Women’s Center of Jacksonville: Sexual Assault Forensic Exam Program — $461,710
• Jacksonville Zoo and Botanical Gardens Lion’s Camp Education Center — $400,000
• Jacksonville School for Autism Supportive Transition & Employment Placement Program — $300,000
• The Arc Jacksonville — IDD Family Support & Navigation Pilot — $300,000
• Jacksonville Sports Foundation — Florida Sports Workforce Apprenticeship Initiative — $250,000
• Virtual Tutoring Support Program for Duval County Public Schools — $250,000
• The Jacksonville History Center — $225,000
• Jacksonville Arts & Music School (JAMS) — What A Leader (W.A.L.) Program — $200,000
• The LJD Jewish Family & Community Services — Duval County Mental Health — $200,000
• Atlantic Beach — Sailfish Drive Multi-Use Path — $195,000
• NAMI Jacksonville — PEER Link — Peer Navigation and Mental Health Support — $150,000

St. Augustine and St. Johns County 

• Lower St. Johns River Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Restoration Project Phase 2 — $2 million
• St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office Detox Program — $1.3 million
• St. Augustine Beach Mickler Outfall South Adaptation/Resiliency Improvements — $1,016,025
• St. Johns County – State Road 16 Phase 2 — $1 million
• St. Augustine Beach Mickler Outfall North Resiliency/Adaptation Improvements — $828,000
• St. Johns County School District — Therapeutic Learning Center for Children at The Arc 
• of the St. Johns – Charter School Expansion — $500,000

• St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum World War II-Themed Education Building (– $500,000
• St. Johns County Police Athletic League Diamond of  Dreams — $500,000
• St. Augustine Youth Services – Intensive In-Home Therapeutic Programs — $300,000
• St. Augustine Teen Center Boys & Girls Club — $200,000
• Trinity Rescue Mission – St. Johns Facility Improvements — $150,000
• St. Johns County Career and Job Readiness — $132,500

Nassau County

• Nassau County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit Regional Training Facility — Public Safety Training Complex — $500,000
• Nassau County Thomas Creek Basin Flooding Mitigation — $500,000
• Nassau County Affordable Housing — $500,000
• Nassau County Courthouse Redesign and New Courtroom — $500,000
• Nassau County Youth Alternative to Secured Detention — $125,000

Clay County

• Clay County School Readiness and Early Learning Services — $7.466 million
• Clay County Voluntary pre-kindergarden program — $4.743 million 
• Expand County Road 218 to Four Lanes — $2 million

First Coast project funding the governor cut from the budget include: 

Vetoed: Jacksonville and Duval County

• Jacksonville Fair Restroom Buildings Phase 3 — $1,75 million
• Program for All Inclusive Care for the Elderly, 200 New Slots — Duval County — $1.39 million
• Jacksonville — 11th and 12th Street Connector — $750,000
• Jacksonville — Hogan Street Emerald Trail from Union Street to 1st Street — $750,000
• Edward Waters University — Living, Learning, and Community Multiplex — $666,300
• Springfield Preservation and Revitalization Council Inc. — Drew Rehabilitation — $350,000
• Edward Waters University — Living, Learning, and Community Multiplex — $333,700
• Historic Eastside Community Preventive Health and Wellness Initiative — $136,538
• Atlantic Beach — Sailfish Drive Multi-Use Path — $195,000
• Northeast Florida Builders Association Workforce Education Expansion Operations — $100,000
• Planned to A.T. Financial Literacy Curriculum Expansion in Duval County Public Schools — $100,000

St. Augustine and St. Johns County

• St. Augustine Design, Construction of Resilient Structure on Anastasia Blvd — $1.5 million
• Anastasia Island Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety — $1.25 million
• St. Augustine Wastewater System Planning & Design — $1 million
• St. Augustine Beach Mizell Outfall Resiliency Improvements — $776,250
• The Arc of the St. Johns — Transportation Maintenance Facility Expansion and Modernization — $750,000
• St. Johns County School District — Therapeutic Learning Center for Children at The Arc of the St. Johns — Charter School Expansion — $500,000
• Green Cove Springs — St. Johns River Trail Design Phase II — $356,250

Nassau County

• Nassau County CR 107 Widening & Intersection Improvements — $500,000

Clay County

• Clay County Fairgrounds Improvements — $250,000
• Clay County Utility Authority OT, SCADA and Cybersecurity Improvements — $750,000
• Clay County Utility Authority OT, SCADA and Cybersecurity Improvements — $250,000