Dear Friends,
The 2022 Legislative Session has concluded and it is nice to return home to family, friends, and the good people of Senate District 12. Over the next few columns, we plan to share a few highlights of what was done in Tallahassee over the last few months.
First, we want to share some budget numbers with you. Florida, thanks to a constitutional mandate, must pass a balanced budget every year. This means that we do not spend more money than what you, the taxpayer, sends us. This year, thanks to our robust economy, Florida’s budget set a new record at $112.1 billion. This budget leaves $8.9 billion in state reserves (our rainy day fund), establishes a $1 billion state inflation fund to help offset the rising costs of inflation, and provides $658 million in broad based tax relief to Florida families.
Within this budget, the legislature increased K-12 per-student funding to the highest level in state history and invested $800 million to increase the salaries of classroom teachers, a $250 million increase over the prior year.
Further, due to extraordinary inflation brought on by the federal government’s irresponsible policies, the legislature sought to help relieve some of that financial burden by investing $1 billion to ensure Floridians who work for, or contract with, the state, and spend each day educating, protecting and caring for others in our communities earn at least $15 per hour. All regular state employees will also receive a 5.38 percent pay increase to keep up with the rising cost of living.
The Florida legislature continues to make key investments in one of our most treasured resources – our environment. The budget dedicates $885 million to Everglades restoration, safeguards state taxpayer funds dedicated to clean water resources, and maintains the steady stream of funding established last year for wastewater and mitigating sea level rise.
Many in our state are facing issues with affordable housing and action to provide some relief to those Florida families struggling in that area. With an emphasis on home ownership, the budget provided record-level funding of nearly $363 million to affordable housing programs, up from the $209 million in funding last year. The budget directs $100 million to the new Hometown Hero Program to provide down payment and closing cost assistance to our hometown heroes – teachers, law enforcement, health care workers and more.
This is just a small snapshot of Florida’s 2022-2023 budget and there were many other exciting investments made to benefit all who work and live in our great state. We look forward to sharing more over the next few columns of all that was accomplished on your behalf.
Onward & Upward,
Senator Dennis Baxley
