Jacob Ogles
To help firefighters in smaller Florida counties, the Senate wants to spend millions more than its House counterparts.
However, the House hopes to direct millions to search-and-rescue teams not included in the upper chamber’s budget at all.
The latest offer from the House State Administration Budget Subcommittee includes just $2 million in grant funding for fiscally constrained jurisdictions to cover firefighter assistance.
In its last budget offer, the Senate Agriculture, Environment, and General Government Appropriations Committee asked for $4 million, double the House amount.
The state defines 29 of its 67 counties as fiscally constrained due to their low populations and tax bases. Most are located in the Florida Panhandle, Big Bend and the Florida heartland.
The House wants to allocate more than $4.67 million to fund Urban Search and Rescue training and sustainment.
Of note, Senate President Ben Albritton, a Wauchula Republican, represents a few of those Heartland counties, including his home base of Hardee County.
Meanwhile, Speaker Daniel Perez, a Miami Republican, represents a region of South Florida that happens to be the headquarters for the Miami-Dade Urban Search and Rescue team, recognized as one of the best in the country.
South Florida’s search and rescue capacity drew national attention following the collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside back in 2021.
Both budget lines fall under the Department of Financial Services, as the Florida state government organization puts the work under the Chief Financial Officer and the Fire Marshal’s Office.
The Senate and House have now agreed on several other related expenses in the budget silo.
That includes setting aside $500 million for a firefighter decontamination kit match program. But the House has several requests not included in the Senate’s budget for the state agency. That includes wanting $5.87 million for building repair and maintenance of the State Fire College, $344,000 for bomb squad and canine operational needs and almost $469,000 for law enforcement equipment and safety needs.
