DeSantis Signs $117.6B Florida Budget After $1.6B in Vetoes; More Than 140 Laws Take Effect July 1

TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a $117.6 billion state budget for the 2026–27 fiscal year on Monday, wielding his veto pen to strike $1.6 billion in spending while more than 140 new laws passed during the 2026 legislative session take effect at midnight.

Nocatee, located approximately 20 miles southeast of Jacksonville in St. Johns County, is a master-planned community of about 25,000 residents and one of the fastest-growing areas in Northeast Florida, situated near the PGA TOUR’s global headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach.

The budget signing came after a prolonged legislative process that required multiple special sessions to finalize. Among the most significant vetoes, DeSantis cut more than $225 million in Department of Corrections funding, including a proposed prison hospital and pay adjustments for correctional officers. DeSantis argued the corrections funding package was structured in a way that would force the state into debt.

“This bill takes a D.C. swamp approach to correctional pay, attempting to force the state to take on new debt to build a prison hospital by holding hostage pay increases for our hardworking correctional officers. This is not a game I am willing to play,” DeSantis said.

An estimated $800 million in local member projects were eliminated. Major vetoes also included $15 million for Catholic school security in the Miami Archdiocese — the first such funding ever included — and hundreds of millions in water, stormwater, and flood mitigation projects. What survived includes $50 million for Hillsborough College campus improvements, $250 million to replenish the state’s emergency preparedness fund, and $2.75 million to rename Palm Beach International Airport after President Donald Trump.

Separately, more than 140 bills from the 2026 session become law on July 1, the start of the new fiscal year. Among the most consequential is the Florida Farm Bill (SB 290), a nearly 40-page package that prevents local governments from restricting gas-powered farm and landscape equipment, creates a veterinary student loan repayment program, and tightens regulations on biosolids.

The Data Center Bill (SB 484) establishes a comprehensive regulatory framework for hyperscale data centers, directing the Florida Public Service Commission to set tariffs for large-load customers while preserving local governments’ authority over land-use decisions. Other notable measures taking effect include a ban on local “net-zero” greenhouse gas policies, recognition of gold and silver coins as legal tender, and a requirement that pet dealers provide veterinary records to buyers.

The budget leaves the state with $18 billion in reserves, which DeSantis pointed to as evidence of fiscal discipline. Democrats criticized the plan, saying it failed to adequately address affordability and cut programs serving veterans, seniors, and children.

Source: https://floridapolitics.com/archives/804587-sunburn-the-morning-read-of-whats-hot-in-florida-politics-6-30-26/