State of Florida

U.S. DOT Deputy Secretary Polly Trottenberg traveled to Miami-Dade County to highlight the $27 million of funding provided under the bipartisan infrastructure law to Miami International Airport's improvement projects.

"We're going to be opportunistic based on what the market conditions are and what the interest rate environment is," said Ben Watkins, director of the Florida Division of Bond Finance. "We like to be like Boy Scouts — we always want to be prepared."

Tourism raised $35.2 billion in taxes in 2022, consisting of $18.9 billion in federal tax revenue, $8.1 billion in state tax revenue and $8.2 billion in local tax receipts, according to a report.

"It is not surprising that we have witnessed — and continue to witness — a great migration of Americans away from cities and states pursuing failed policies, with Florida serving as a refuge for freedom and sanity," Gov. Ron DeSantis said.

Citizens Property Insurance Corp. reported that private insurance companies assumed 650,399 policies from the state's last-resort carrier in 2023.

At the ceremony, Patronis announced the State Board of Administration plans to make a sizable new purchase of Israel bonds.

The budget proposal includes $455 million for the Florida Division of Bond Finance to redeem, defease or purchase outstanding state bonds.

The budget proposal keeps $16.3 billion in reserves and pays down an additional $455 million in debt. While providing $1.1 billion in tax relief to residents, the plan is $4.6 billion lower than the current fiscal year's budget.

Florida outpaced the national average in overall labor force gains last month while the state's 2.8% unemployment rate was lower than the nation's 3.9% in October.

Lawmakers are looking for ways to slow the rising cost of property insurance, provide additional relief to victims of Hurricane Idalia, bolster efforts against anti-Semitism and support Israel while targeting Iran.