Budget conference: Fairground funds flow to Florida counties

In 2023, lawmakers will consider more than a dozen claims bills.

Fairgrounds around the state will find the latest round of negotiations between House and Senate budget committees to be more than fair.

Several localities are slated for state money in the upcoming fiscal year.

Madison County is set to get $1 million for its Livestock Arena. Nassau County’s Northeast Florida Agricultural Education Multi-Use Facility is set to get $900,000. The Tri-County Ag Park is slated to get $679,271, money headed to Calhoun County that also benefits Liberty and Gulf.

A cool $500,000 is slated for the Citrus County Fair Association. Jacksonville is also a winner, with $3 million headed there for the Duval County Fair. The Sarasota County Fair Association also is slated to get $1 million.

The Santa Rosa County Agri-plex won’t go neglected, with $572,000 headed its way. Another $985,000 is headed to Columbia County for the Florida Gateway Fairgrounds.

The Hardee County Fair Association will gladly accept $510,000. A full $1.5 million is headed to Putnam County for its Fairgrounds. Suwannee County is set to get $620,000 for its Agricultural Complex and Coliseum, while $797,800 is headed to Glades County for the Youth Livestock Facility.

Gilchrist County will collect $1 million for its Extension and Rural Ed Center. The Martin County Fair Association will accept $900,000 in state funds. And $2 million is headed to Lake County for its Agricultural Education and Expo Center.

Budget conference subcommittees will meet throughout the week to resolve differences in each area. When remaining issues reach an impasse, they will be “bumped” to the full budget conference committee.

Lawmakers must reach an agreement on a final spending plan by May 2 to meet the 72-hour “cooling off” period required by the state constitution before they can vote on the budget to avoid pushing the Regular Session past its scheduled May 5 end date.