Gov. DeSantis, Jimmy Patronis roll out more first responder bonuses

In Ponte Vedra Thursday, Gov. Ron DeSantis and CFO Jimmy Patronis rolled out $1,000 bonuses for first responders for the second straight year, with a cavalcade of Republicans from across Northeast Florida on hand.

DeSantis has prioritized a “Back the Blue” approach, and these bonuses play right into that theory of governance.

The Governor said “national trends” were to “take money away from law enforcement,” but Florida “stood strong” and resisted those trends.

“Just from a moral perspective, that is wrong. We said, ‘We’ve got your back,'” DeSantis said.

DeSantis then targeted President Joe Biden, bemoaning “Biden-flation” as hitting not only first responders but everyone else, decrying inflation the White House “dismissed” last year. These bonuses, DeSantis said, were a “necessary thing to do given what we’re seeing in the economy.”

The payments, for the second year in a row, apply to police, fire and EMT workers, providing “over $100 million in bonuses for those on the front lines protecting our communities,” per the Governor.

“We’re proud to stand with our great first responders in the state of Florida,” DeSantis said.

“The better the morale, the more the community is supporting law enforcement, the more that we have good laws that promote public safety, the safer our communities are going to be,” DeSantis added.

“It’s Christmas in March,” Patronis said. “DeSantis Claus has struck again, and all his merry elves in the Florida Legislature pulled it off again.”

Sheriffs hailed the new money.

St. Johns County Sheriff Rob Hardwick praised the bonuses, noting the high “cost of living” in the rapidly growing county just south of Jacksonville, and commending Tallahassee Republicans for fighting for the 45,000 sworn law enforcement officers in Florida.

Putnam County Sheriff “Gator” DeLoach added that $1,000 is an especially big deal in a “fiscally constrained” county like his.