Ryan Nicol
With the House looking to slash spending levels for the upcoming fiscal year, appropriators are looking to trim $145 million in spending throughout the justice system.
That’s just a portion of the $6 billion the House wants to cut from last year’s spending plan. But lawmakers still want to fund some priority projects.
The House is setting aside $55 million to repair and maintain facilities within the justice system. The proposed budget also allocates $14 million for pay adjustments among State Attorneys, public defenders, and some circuit and county judges.
But overall, the House would spend less than the Senate in every justice system silo.
The House allocates $4.56 billion for the state court system, down from just under $4.7 billion in the Senate budget.
The House would allocate $39.9 billion to the criminal justice system and corrections, down from the $41.02 billion allocated by the Senate.
The Department of Corrections would receive around $23.25 billion in funding, while the Senate would slot $23.44 billion. The House wants to put $9.95 billion toward justice administration, while the Senate prefers $10.6 billion.
The House sets aside $3.16 billion for the Department of Juvenile Justice, below the Senate’s $3.24 billion. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement would receive about $1.95 billion from the House but $2.03 billion under the Senate’s plan.
Elsewhere, House negotiators settled on $1.4 billion for the Department of Legal Affairs and Attorney General, while Senators prefer $1.53 billion. The House includes just $157.5 million for the Florida Commission of Offender Review, below the Senate’s $165 million.
“This budget reflects our chamber’s values of conservative fiscal stewardship and accountability,” House Speaker Daniel Perez said in a statement announcing the budget, which comes in $4.4 billion below the Senate budget and $2.7 billion under Gov. Ron DeSantis’ outline.
“This budget also reflects decisive action to rein in recurring spending and refocus on the true needs of everyday Floridians. By reducing unnecessary expenditures and cutting wasteful spending, we are ensuring that taxpayers see more of their dollars at work for them — and back in their pockets, too.”
