Florida House Speaker Responds to Governor

Statement from House Speaker Dean Cannon – Hyperlinked

“The people of Florida sent us to Tallahassee to make hard choices during difficult times. We produced a responsible state budget that prioritizes the critical needs of our state, and I am proud that budget was signed into law.

“However, I feel compelled to respond to the Governor’s suggestion that the sum of his vetoes is available for re-appropriation to K-12 education and that doing so would fund education at or near the same level as last year. The Governor’s vetoes freed up less than $100 million in general revenue. If the Legislature were in session and could re-appropriate these funds, they would increase the FEFP by only 0.6 %, which would move the FEFP reduction from 7.9% to 7.3%.

“What is more surprising is the Governor’s sudden emphasis on K-12 education. The budget we sent him funds education at a higher level than the Governor recommended just a few months ago, when he proposed a 10% cut to the FEFP. The Governor communicated numerous priorities during session, and we did our best to accommodate him. It would have been helpful if the Governor had shared this new found emphasis with us before the budget was finalized.

“It is the Governor’s constitutional authority to veto line items in the budget, and I respect his decisions. The vetoes of general revenue appropriations will further increase the more than $2 billion the Legislature set aside in our state’s reserves, which will help protect our bond rating and ensure that we have ample reserves in the event of an emergency.”