BRADENTON — $5 Million in state funding requested by Sen. Jim Boyd for the City of Bradenton to construct roundabouts at three intersections where dozens of crashes have taken place was among nearly a billion dollars in budget items vetoed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis this week.
The cuts, which followed record revenues, were among many to disrupt worthy programs in the Tampa Bay region. For example, the University of South Florida lost nearly $4 million for a program to attempt to lower opioid use throughout the state.
Florida is one of many states that empowers its governor with a "line-item veto," allowing the governor to strike individual items from the budget passed by the state legislature before signing it into law.
DeSantis received criticism for vetoing $6.4 million in funding for the Menstrual Hygiene Products Grant Program, which would have provided free feminine hygiene products in K-12 schools throughout the state. The pilot program had broad bipartisan support.
The Alliance for Period Supplies, a non-profit advocate group, says one in four female students struggle to afford period-related products and that one in three women from low socioeconomic backgrounds miss school, work, or other events due to problems accessing them. The group notes that 27 states and the District of Columbia require schools to provide menstrual products for students.
DeSantis also vetoed funding for the United Way to expand free tax preparation assistance to low-income residents.
“Some of the stuff I don't think was appropriate for state tax dollars,” DeSantis said of the vetoes during a budget-signing event in Tampa. “Some of the stuff you'll see are things that I support, but we have actual programs for.”
DeSantis also vetoed funding for a study that would examine the economic impact that forcing businesses to pay credit card swipe fees on the state taxes they collect is having on the economy at large.
Winners in the budgetary process included the Everglades Trust, which received more than $740 million for Everglades restoration; nursing homes, which saw an 8 percent increase in Medicaid funding; and the Florida Mosquito Control Association, which saw a $1 million increase in funding.
Some of the more egregious funding DeSantis did not strike included $6 million for a 30,000-square-foot gym at a Jacksonville charter school backed by a major DeSantis/RPOF donor. David Beckham-owned soccer team Inter Miami received $3 million in taxpayer money for site work on a new stadium.
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David Daniels
DeSantis vetoed $90 million from art programs. Quoting from the Herald Tribune: It is the first time that no money will be allocated for arts and culture programs by the state. Banning books, eliminating theater, closing artistic programs for kids, cutting classical music and opera...this is the Florida of the extreme right, where kids grow up to be just as close minded as their fox-news watching parents. Uninformed, non-critical thinking voters believe the garbage campaign mailers they get in the mail. Uninformed non-critical thinking voters are easily scared by conspiracy theory claims of indoctrination, and they fall for Orwellian descriptions such as when Bridget Ziegler, in the name of "protecting children," pushes policies that discriminate, bully, and harm LGBT students to the point of contemplating suicide. And when KVO votes to eliminate protection for priceless wetlands in the name of protection of property rights. DeSantis and the far right want a dumber, non-cultural, uninformed electorate because those are the voters that keep them in power, pre-empting local control from Tallahassee.
Saturday, June 15 Report this
Cat L
Of course he did... "Florida, the new Texas!"
Sunday, June 16 Report this
Libby23
Of course DeSantis doesn't want to fund enriching art programs. They might get too many Floridians thinking and feeling. We can't have that in a fascist state!!!!!
Sunday, June 16 Report this
rayfusco68
Although I disagree with a number of items that were vetoed the vetoing of the roundabouts was a correct move. Statistically roundabouts for high speed crossings have 4 times the accidents as those controlled by lights and for low speed crossings roundabouts have 3 times the accidents rate as those with lights. The injury incidence is very low with roundabouts because of reduced entry speed and angle of impact. Add to these statistics the fact that most Florida drivers have no clue about the rules of traffic circles, the increased vigilance needed to use them and our elderly driver population and you have a recipe for disaster.
5 days ago Report this