Senators stand united as chamber passes $108.6 billion budget proposal

Kelli Stargel. Image via Colin Hackley.

Senators have voted unanimously to approve their chamber’s budget proposal, a 12-figure plan bolstered by federal COVID-19 funds.

The day after the House spent a long afternoon debating its budget that saw Democrats resist the proposal, the Senate budget sailed through on Thursday. At $108.6 billion, the Senate plan is $7 billion more than the current fiscal year’s budget and more than $3 billion larger than the House’s plan.

With the House and Senate proposals formally put forward (HB 5001), the next step is for both chambers to conference and negotiate one proposal for Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signature.

The significant proposed increase from last year’s already record $101.5 billion budget comes because of an infusion of federal stimulus dollars given to states to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. DeSantis’ “Freedom First” budget recommendation came in at $99.7 billion, but additional spending is contemplated in other areas that didn’t make it into the Governor’s top-line figure.

The Senate’s top budget architect, Lakeland Republican Sen. Kelli Stargel, said the budget includes a record number of reserves.

“If we were faced with future challenges, the Senate budget reflects a responsible, balanced approach that is prepared to take on whatever challenges may come our way,” Stargel said.

Under the Senate’s plan, low-paid state workers would see raises and K-12 schools would get a funding boost, as would nearly every portion of the state budget.

Senate President Wilton Simpson, a Trilby Republican, has pushed to increase the pay for low-paid state workers by raising the minimum wage to $15. A constitutional amendment passed by voters in 2020 will push the minimum wage for all workers to $15 by 2026, but Simpson says the early increase is needed to recruit and retain workers in needed areas.

The Senate plan, though, goes beyond the hike to $15 per hour. Those making $15 to $25 could see a pay increase as well. And employees working for state vendors, such as nursing home attendants, also will get pay increases. The total cost of the plan is $1 billion.

The Senate budget puts $24 billion into K-12 schools, an increase of $1.46 billion, or 6.5%. That pushes per-student funding to $3,294, an $808 jump on the current year.

In a break from the House budget, the Senate does not include a “Putting Parents First Adjustment” to punish school administrators that enforced mask mandates and benefit districts that followed the state masking rules. DeSantis now endorses the plan, but the Senate Education Appropriations Subcommittee has not considered the possibility, although Simpson is open to accountability measures.

That measure helped drive 13 Democrats to vote against the House budget. In the Senate, Boca Raton Democratic Sen. Tina Polsky thanked members of Republican leadership for not including the $200 million adjustment.

“I hope that that continues throughout the process, and I’m proud to support the Senate budget,” Polsky said.

Part of the Senate funding includes $50 million to help school districts reach DeSantis’ goal of getting teachers to a minimum salary of $47,500. Some districts, but not all, have hit that mark.

The spending plan, however, ignores other parts of DeSantis’ proposed budget, such as an additional $37 million in cancer research funding and his $1 billion gas tax cut plan.

In health care, the Senate would spend $47.8 billion, a $3.3 billion increase on the current year. Much of that stems from an increase in Medicaid caseloads, which shot up in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, as did federal funding for the program.

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Gray Rohrer of Florida Politics contributed to this report.