Here's how your state legislators want to spend tax money on Brevard projects

State legislators representing Brevard County have filed over 200 appropriation requests in advance of the two-month session of the Florida Legislature that starts Jan. 9.

Requests submitted by local legislators run the gamut, with one major category being environmental projects. Requests also have been submitted for Brevard Public Schools, Florida Institute of Technology, Eastern Florida State College, the Brevard Zoo's proposed aquarium at Port Canaveral, other tourism attractions, road projects, health care projects and nonprofit entities.

Some members of the seven-member Brevard delegation have submitted requests for statewide projects or projects in other counties, but most are targeted for the county or counties they represent.

As of Friday, Florida House members statewide have posted 2,309 appropriation requests and Florida Senate members have posted 1,074, with some of them duplicate requests from members of each chamber. Filing an appropriation request is an initial step of getting the proposed funding into the 2024-25 state budget, although getting the item into the budget is no guarantee of funding. That's because the governor has line-item veto power after the Legislature approves the budget.

Colleges seek support

Among the more prolific local filers of appropriation requests is Tyler Sirois, R-Merritt Island, who submitted 29 requests. His largest request ― and the second-largest of any House member ― was $80 million for a joint Florida A&M University-Florida State University College of Engineering building in Tallahassee. Sirois is an FSU graduate, and maintains a good working relationship with FSU officials. He calls this "a project of statewide significance" to help meet the demand for engineers.

But most of Sirois' other funding requests were for Brevard projects, including two major college projects — $7 million for an Aerospace Cybersecurity Engineering Development or ASCEND program at Florida Tech; and $5.1 million to outfit and equip an Advanced Technologies Center at Eastern Florida State College's Cocoa campus. Both are follow-ups to previous state grants the colleges received in the current 2023-24 state budget.

Florida Tech seeks to help alleviate engineering cyber talent shortages for Florida aerospace and defense industries by continuing to develop the ASCEND Center of Excellence. It wants to create an aerospace engineering and educational laboratory of national distinction, with an emphasis on cybersecurity and resiliency skills. The program received $5 million from the 2023-24 state budget.

The budget request for EFSC is the second phase of a project to transform an underused library building on its Cocoa campus to a career and educational training center, with the library being moved elsewhere on campus. Among the targets of the training are potential future employees of commercial space companies and other high-tech companies. The project received $3.6 million in the 2023-24 budget.

Sirois said among his top priorities is a proposed $4.23 million allocation for pre-construction work on a planned Ellis Road widening project, including land-clearing and the acquisition of rights of way ― an appropriation request co-sponsored by Sen. Debbie Mayfield, R-Indialantic.

Tourism-related proposals

Sirois also is seeking money for various projects at tourism venues, including:

• $5 million for construction of the Dr. Duane De Freese Coastal Conservation Hub at the Brevard Zoo's aquarium, scheduled to open in 2027 at Port Canaveral.

• $2.5 million for a Florida Law Enforcement Educational Initiative project at the American Police Hall of Fame & Museum complex in Titusville.

• $650,000 for Phase 2 of reconstruction of lighthouse keeper cottages at the historic Cape Canaveral Lighthouse, with Mayfield as co-sponsor.

• $600,000 for a Medal of Honor Tribute area at Veterans Memorial Park on Merritt Island, with Mayfield as a co-sponsor.

• $200,000 for cultural programs and animatronic figures at the Harry T. & Harriette V. Moore Cultural Complex in Mims.

Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier this year vetoed $2.5 million for the Police Hall of Fame, $2 million for the aquarium and $200,000 for the Moore Cultural Complex.

Sirois' appropriation request list includes nine local environmental projects, including ones for dredging, septic-to-sewer conversions, water treatment, water condition monitoring, aquatic vegetation restoration, flood mitigation, sewer rehabilitation and lift station replacement.

Rep. Thad Altman, R-Indialantic, also submitted a relatively large number of appropriation requests ― 25 in all. That includes 15 for environmental projects, of which nine were for $2 million or more apiece.

Altman and Mayfield submitted appropriations requests of $5 million for Melbourne Orlando International Airport for design and construction of a new airport operations center.

Among other requests from Altman: $950,000 for foster care and adoption programs of Family First; $923,076 for a Florida pilot program to prevent online exploitation of children; $141,667 for programs for former foster youth and homeless youth in Brevard; and $55,000 for upgrades to the Sendler Education Outpost at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

Altman also is seeking $849,100 for an aerospace and innovation academy for youth and educators at several sites in the state; and $189,2000 for a next-generation innovators science/technology/engineering/math program at Odyssey Charter School.

Randy Fine, R-Melbourne Beach, filed a number of appropriations requests that made the current 2023-24 state budget. But he opted to file just one so far for the 2024-25 session ― $10 million to beef up security at Jewish day schools statewide. The proposed funded would be used to make full-time Jewish day schools and preschools secure with professional security guards and security hardening.

Fine said he is working behind the scenes with other legislators in support of other appropriations, but chose not to be an official sponsor this year. He noted that some legislators ― including House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast ― submitted no appropriations requests for the coming budget cycle.

Two other House members who represent part of Brevard have the bulk of their districts in other counties, which is where most of their appropriation requests are centered. Rep. Robert Brackett, R-Vero Beach, represents all of Indian River County and part of southern Brevard County. Rep. Chase Tramont, R-Port Orange, represents southern Volusia County and part of northern Brevard County.

Tramont had 56 appropriation requests, most in Volusia. But his third-largest request was $10.5 million for Brevard Public Schools for expansion of the Brevard Adult and Community Education Technical Center on the Clearlake Education Center campus in Cocoa. The facility would have a range of career and technical education programs, including for automotive and diesel mechanics, health care, construction, technology and advanced manufacturing.

Brackett filed 13 requests, including two environmental projects with Brevard impacts ― a $2 million jetty maintenance and safety improvement project at Sebastian Inlet on the Brevard/Indian River County line, as well as $1.5 million for nutrient-separating baffle boxes in Palm Bay. He also is seeking $3 million for construction of a public boat ramp, with an adjacent parking lot and bathrooms, in Micco.

Local projects in current budget: Brevard projects that made Florida's 2023-24 budget -- and what got vetoed

Senate requests

There also was a wide range of sponsorships of appropriations on the Senate.

Mayfield will have about 25 appropriation requests, some of which have not been posted yet on the Senate website.

Many of them are for environmental projects.

Mayfield also filed appropriation requests for the Who We Play For sudden cardiac arrest prevention program ($975,000); Fostering Our Future faith-based support program for children and families in foster care ($750,000); and the Lifetime Counseling Center Thrive Within Program for mental health support ($650,000).

Mayfield and Altman also are requesting $588,000 to fund design and engineering of a proposed public safety complex and emergency operations center in Palm Bay that would serve southwest Brevard County.

Sen. Tom Wright, R-New Smyrna Beach, whose district includes north Brevard and most of Volusia, had filed 54 appropriations requests as of Friday.

Many of Wright's requests involved projects in Volusia County, which comprises most of his district. But there also were projects in Brevard, including co-sponsoring with Tramont the proposed Brevard Adult and Community Education Technical Center expansion.

Other Brevard appropriation requests Wright is sponsoring include $6 million for a septic-to-sewer conversion project in Cocoa; $2.5 million for an agricultural technology program at Astronaut High School in Titusville; $984,750 for expansion of student robotics competitions; $450,000 for a Manufacturing Talent Asset Pipeline program coordinated by the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast, with Altman as co-sponsor; and $300,000 for Brevard Adults with Disabilities programs, with Altman as co-sponsor.

Bill filing underway

Legislators also are in the process of filing bills for the 2024 session.

Fine filed a bill that had been approved in October by the Brevard delegation to the Florida Legislature, in a 5-2 vote, to make changes in the entity that operates Parrish Medical Center in Titusville. Under Fine's local bill, assets of the North Brevard County Hospital District would be put under the control of the County Commission. The North Brevard County Hospital District board that operates Parrish would be required to seek an independent appraisal of the hospital district's assets, then put the assets up for sale to gauge interest from potential buyers. Proceeds from a possible sale would be transferred to the County Commission for use in county government operations.

Sirois filed a bill unanimously approved by the Brevard delegation making various changes to Port Canaveral's charter. Among the proposed changes in the charter are ones that deal with stricter requirements for leases of greater than 30 years; procedures for soliciting contracts with vendors; expansion of the port's foreign trade zone; recognition of the commercial space launch industry's role at the port; and use of online legal notices.

Wright has sponsored the most bills so far among the seven legislators representing Brevard. His 18 bills cover a range of topics, including spaceports, seaports, driving under the influence, property tax exemptions for surviving spouses of veterans, the Florida National Guard, code enforcement officers, sales tax on aircraft sales and leases, and public records.

Dave Berman is business editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Berman at dberman@floridatoday.com, on X at @bydaveberman and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dave.berman.54

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Brevard legislators seek range of state funding for local projects