Florida's governor hails continued reduction of state debt

Bloomberg News

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis hailed the state's continued reduction of debt outstanding when he signed the fiscal 2027 budget Monday. 

Tax-supported debt declined to $8.73 billion in fiscal 2026 from $17.53 billion in fiscal 2018, according to the state's Division of Bond Finance. 

The state has used tenders and defeasances to reduce its debt, Division Director Ben Watkins said. 

The fiscal 2027 budget includes allocations for bonds to be drawn over periods beyond the coming 12 months, Watkins said. They include $1 billion for the Department of Transportation to be issued in the next 24 months. Additionally, the budget provides for $551 million in DOT Finance Corp. bonds to support the Moving Florida Forward initiative and $700 million bonds for right-of-way, both to be sold over the next several years.

The Florida budget totals $117.6 billion. Republican DeSantis said it was the fourth year in a row that spending decreased. The budget calculations include spending supported by federal allocations, something that has been declining as COVID funds recede. The Florida tax-supported budget, or general fund, totals were not immediately available. 

DeSantis said he vetoed $810 million in line-items from the legislature-approved budget. He said since coming to office in January 2019 he has sometimes vetoed "nice to have" things that were not "need to have," in order to improve state finances. 

The governor said the state had the smallest government footprint per capita of any in the country. During his tenure, Florida's government has cut more than 1,300 positions while the state's population has increased by more than 10%. The state's rainy-day fund has been filled to its $5 billion maximum allowed. DeSantis, who is term-limited, said of the state's finances, "No question that we're leaving it better than we found it." 

Florida House Democratic Caucus Leader Fentrice Driskell said the governor had vetoed money for veterans, children with autism, opioid and drug abuse prevention programs and seniors. "I grew up knowing that where your treasure is, there your heart is also: apparently this governor's heart is set on wasteful spending. Under this administration, billions of taxpayer dollars have been squandered on schemes like Alligator Alcatraz, the HOPE Florida scandal, failed importation programs and renaming airports."

Florida TaxWatch said of the 621 appropriations it had identified as "Budget Turkeys," the governor had vetoed 184 of them.

Amy Baker, coordinator for the Office of Economic and Demographic Research, told state lawmakers in September the state faced combined deficits of $8.1 billion in fiscal 2027-28 and fiscal 2028-29.