Governor Ron DeSantis announces the Focus on Fiscal Responsibility 2025-2026 budget

Press release from the Office of Governor Ron DeSantis

Investing in Florida’s Everglades and Water Quality & Supply
Florida’s natural resources are directly tied to the economic strength of the state and provide important defenses against natural disasters such as hurricanes. Florida has made record investments in protecting our natural resources and conserving the Florida way of life, and Governor DeSantis continues this commitment in the Focus on Fiscal Responsibility Budget.

During Governor DeSantis’ first term as Governor, he signed record investments to protect Florida’s Everglades and support water quality, investing a record $3.3 billion. At the start of his second term, he called for a historic $3.5 billion investment over the next four years. The Governor’s Budget recommends $1.5 billion for Everglades restoration and water quality, bringing the total investment during the Governor’s second term to $4.8 billion. This investment includes $805 million for Everglades restoration projects:

• $613 million for the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP).
• $64 million for the EAA Reservoir to continue the momentum of this critical project to reduce harmful discharges and help send more clean water south of the Everglades.
• $50 million for specific project components designed to achieve the greatest reductions in harmful discharges to the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie Estuaries.
• $78 million for the Northern Everglades and Estuaries Protection Program.
• In addition, $3 million is included for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to remove pythons from the Everglades.

To continue protecting Florida’s water quality and supply, the Governor is recommending $550 million for targeted water quality improvements to achieve significant, meaningful, and measurable nutrient reductions in key waterbodies. This includes: 

• $275 million for the expanded Water Quality Improvement Grant Program for projects to construct, upgrade or expand wastewater facilities, including septic to sewer conversions, stormwater management projects, and agricultural nutrient reduction projects.
• $100 million for the Indian River Lagoon (IRL) Protection Program for priority projects to improve water quality in the IRL, as called for in Executive Order 23-06.
• $50 million to accelerate projects to meet scientific nutrient reduction goals, called Total Maximum Daily Loads.
• $80 million for the Lower Kissimmee Basin Stormwater Treatment Area project to reduce the levels of phosphorus and nitrogen in the Kissimmee River prior to flowing into Lake Okeechobee.
• $20 million for critical infrastructure including wastewater and stormwater projects that address water quality impairments and coral reef restoration in Biscayne Bay.
• $25 million for water quality improvements in the Caloosahatchee River watershed.

Additional water quality investments include $50 million to restore Florida’s world-renowned springs and for land acquisition to protect springsheds as well as $85 million to improve water quality and combat the impacts of harmful algal blooms, including blue-green algae and red tide. The Focus on Fiscal Responsibility Budget includes $60 million for the Alternative Water Supply Grant Program to help communities plan for and implement vital conservation, reuse and other alternative water supply projects.

To support conservation lands and to protect the great outdoors for generations of Floridians to enjoy, the Focus on Fiscal Responsibility Budget invests $69 million in Florida’s State Parks for infrastructure improvements and resource management with the goal of maintaining Florida’s world class parks, which have won the National Gold Medal a record four times. The budget also includes more than $132 million to protect Florida’s conservation lands and waterways to ensure Florida’s prized properties are accessible for future generations of Florida families. This funding includes $100 million for the Florida Forever Program, the state’s blueprint for conserving Florida’s natural and recreation lands, including those located within the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

Florida is home to 1,300 miles of coastline which plays an important role in Florida’s economy and quality of life, attracting visitors from across the world and providing an invaluable defense against hurricanes. The Focus on Fiscal Responsibility Budget includes $100 million in beach nourishment funding to bolster our shorelines. Additionally, the Governor is recommending $26.2 million for coral reef protection and restoration, including $11.2 million to continue Florida’s Coral Reef Restoration and Recovery Initiative established in Executive Order 23-06, to restore 25 percent of Florida’s Coral Reef by 2050.

The Focus on Fiscal Responsibility Budget also prioritizes the protection of Florida’s working agricultural lands and family farms, providing an annual appropriation of $100 million to the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program to enter into perpetual conservation easements. In order to preserve Florida’s iconic citrus industry, the budget invests more than $20 million for citrus research and the Citrus Health Response Program. This includes $7 million for research and additional advertising by the Department of Citrus.

The Focus on Fiscal Responsibility Budget also includes $30 million to restore Florida’s Oyster’s reefs in Apalachicola Bay. Over the last two decades, bay wide declines in oyster reef size from over 2,000 acres to less than 100 acres resulted in a reduction of oyster populations that led to the ongoing fishery closure, instituted in 2020. This project will provide for continued restoration in Apalachicola Bay in support of sustainable oyster reefs that protect and enhance the ecosystem services this natural resource provides to the public.

To further protect Florida’s rural areas and communities surrounded by Florida’s beautiful forests, the Governor’s Budget provides $4 million to support the replanting of trees and timber impacted by hurricanes and natural disasters, in addition to investing over $45 million in Florida’s efforts to effectively combat wildfires including equipment, and wildfire suppression activities, such as prescribed burning.

The Focus on Fiscal Responsibility Budget also includes $206 million for the cleanup of contaminated sites with a focus on promoting redevelopment of these areas once cleanup has been completed.

Supporting Disaster Response, Recovery and Mitigation
In 2024, Governor DeSantis, the Division of Emergency Management, state agencies and local partners rose to the significant challenges imposed by disasters including hurricanes Debby, Helene, and Milton. The Focus on Fiscal Responsibility Budget provides $1.24 billion in state and federal funding for disaster recovery, mitigation, and emergency management to continue helping Floridians impacted by a disaster while preparing for future disasters.

This includes $344 million in state match for the state cost share associated with authorized federal funding to eligible local and state recipients for reimbursement of the response and recovery cost, as well as state management costs relating to federally declared disasters.

Strong infrastructure is the best way to protect the state’s shorelines against the impacts of a future hurricane, and that includes both natural and physical infrastructure improvements. With the additional investment of $261 million for infrastructure projects in our local communities, Governor DeSantis has invested over $2 billion to strengthen the state’s coastal infrastructure and helped communities prepare for the impacts of flooding and hurricanes through targeted funding and directives that enhance efforts to protect our inland waterways, coastlines, shores, and coral reefs—all of which serve as invaluable defenses against flooding.

Additionally, the Focus on Fiscal Responsibility Budget includes $150 million in additional federal Community Development Block Grant funds for local hurricane recovery and hardening efforts throughout the state, including the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Program and the Community Development Block Grant Mitigation Program.

Read the full press release: Governor Ron DeSantis announces the Focus on Fiscal Responsibility 2025-2026 budget - Alachua Chronicle