Ron DeSantis' budget vetoes were driven by politics, some Florida Republicans say

As the 2023 session of the Florida Legislature was winding down in early-May, Republican Senate and House members also were in the process of pledging their support for Gov. Ron DeSantis' expected ― but at the time undeclared ― run for president in 2024.

By mid-May, 99 of the 113 GOP state legislators at the time had come onboard, including six of the seven who represent Brevard County. The local legislator who didn't immediately endorse DeSantis for president was Sen. Tom Wright of New Smyrna Beach, whose district includes most of Volusia County and northern Brevard County.

When DeSantis signed the 2023-24 state budget a month later, he vetoed 21 of the budget items that Wright sponsored ― the most vetoes tied to any state senator, according to a News Service of Florida analysis. The 21 items had a combined value of $18.95 million.

Wright says he doesn't see any relation between the two. He noted that he endorsed DeSantis the day after DeSantis officially announced his candidacy on May 24 ― which was three weeks before the governor announced his list of line-item vetoes. Wright said he doesn't believe in endorsing anyone before he or she is a declared candidate. And he said he got lots of things into the budget that weren't vetoed by the governor, who has line-item veto powers for individual items.

Wright said more than $80 million of the items he sponsored for his Senate district made the 2023-24 budget, compared with about $33 million in the 2022-23 budget, "so I'm feeling pretty good. I was able to bring back more state funding to our community than I ever have before."

And Wright contends that DeSantis doesn't play politics with his budget veto powers, saying: "I really don't think he's that type of a man."

But other prominent Florida Republicans hit by DeSantis vetoes had a different view.

Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, contends that his endorsement of Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election was a factor in DeSantis vetoing 12 budget items totaling $15.6 million sponsored by Gruters, who also is the former chairman of the Florida Republican Party.

"The governor is clearly upset I endorsed Donald Trump for president, and so he took it out on the people of Sarasota County," Gruters said in a statement. "Simply because I support his political opponent, the governor chose to punish ordinary Floridians who want better water quality, less traffic congestion and increased resources for disabled children to find gainful employment. It’s mean-spirited acts like this that are defining him here and across the country.”

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Republican Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson ― who thus far has endorsed neither DeSantis nor Trump for president ― was upset about several major DeSantis vetoes tied to his department.

That included $100 million for “Conservation and Rural Land Protection" easements, a program championed by Simpson. The program, launched in 2001, involves purchasing conservation easements that allow landowners to continue farming and cattle operations, in exchange for not developing the property.

After the veto list was released, Simpson ― who served two years as Senate president before his election to his current Cabinet post in November ― criticized the governor’s veto as harmful to the state’s $180 billion agriculture industry.

“There is no conceivable reason to target agriculture in a year when we have billions of dollars in reserves,” Simpson, an egg farmer, said in a statement. “Agriculture was harmed today, and so was the state of Florida.”

Governor's office responds

DeSantis' veto list did not detail why he was vetoing specific projects. In a news release issued after he signed the $116.5 billion state budget, DeSantis said he vetoed $510.9 million worth of items as a way "to maintain Florida's sound fiscal standing in the face of continued economic headwinds due to ill-conceived federal policies."

In a statement provided to FLORIDA TODAY, the governor's press secretary, Jeremy Redfern, indicated that politics played no role DeSantis' vetoes.

"Sen. Gruters turning conservative governance and fiscal responsibility into a political statement is absurd," Redfern said. "Gov. DeSantis approved more than $125 million for Sarasota County, including $25 million for New College of Florida."

The governor's separate actions related to New College — a small state-run liberal-arts school in Sarasota — have been controversial. In March, DeSantis appointed a new board that ousted the college's president, and dissolved the university's office handling diversity, equity and inclusion programs, putting it at the center of the nation's culture war debate. The board appointed a DeSantis ally ― former Florida House Speaker and Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran ― to the presidential post.

In relation to agriculture funding, Redfern said, the Florida Legislature last year appropriated and DeSantis approved $300 millionto support agricultural conservation easements to preserve agricultural lands through the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program.

"The funding was appropriated as a fixed capital outlay, which allows the funds to be available in the following fiscal year," Redfern said. "At a minimum, $240 million remains available for the program moving into the upcoming fiscal year. The governor made the prudent decision to continue to support the program through the remaining resources that will roll into next year’s budget."

"In addition," Redfern said. "the budget includes more than $976 million for conservation and recreation land acquisition" through other state programs.

Democratic legislative concerns

While Republicans took hits in the gubernatorial vetoes, Democrats say they were impacted to a greater degree proportionately, considering there are just 35 Democrats in the 120-member House and 12 in the 40-member Senate.

"It's definitely frustrating how political this process is," said Florida Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, who had five of the 11 appropriation items that she sponsored and made it into budget subsequently vetoed by the governor. Those five projects were worth a total of $1.76 million.

"Democrats substantially don't get their projects funded, particularly if you are a vocal Democrat," said Eskamani, who is regarded as among the more outspoken Democrats in the House.

Eskamani noted that some of the appropriation requests she sponsored in the House that survived the governor's veto were sponsored in the Senate by a Republican who represents Central Florida.

"Many of my Democratic colleagues also saw all or close to all of their funding requests be vetoed," Eskamani said. "These are essential programs that support Floridians in need and areas of concentrated disadvantage. Seeing these items vetoed is not just a political decision. It has real human impact.”

In a statement issued after the veto list came out, Rep. Ashley V. Gantt, D-Miami, said: "The governor vetoing a majority of Democrats’ projects is an indication that he does not understand the concept of serving all Floridians, even in blue districts. Americans everywhere are on notice that he is incapable of doing what is right for those he serves when you dare speak out against his archaic and repressive policies.”

Aquarium funding vetoed: Gov. DeSantis vetoes $2 million for Brevard Zoo's aquarium project after Rep. Fine spat

Rep. Angie Nixon, D-Jacksonville, said DeSantis’ veto list "represents a punishment list of all the folks in office that dared speak out against his harmful policies, like myself."

Fine: Democrats are whiners

But Rep. Randy Fine, R-Melbourne Beach, scoffed at the idea that the governor would be using his veto power in politically motivated ways."I had things vetoed, and I’m a Republican ,and I’m fairly good friends with the governor," said Fine, who had a total of nine items totaling $5.18 million that he had submitted vetoed, including five Brevard-specific projects. Fine had withdrawn his support for two of the five vetoed Brevard projects during the budget process.

One of those vetoed items was $2 million state budget appropriation for an aquarium that the Brevard Zoo plans to build at Port Canaveral.

Fine withdrew his support for that appropriation after having a falling out with the zoo over a political fundraising event Fine held at the zoo. The fundraiser drew protests, and the zoo's executive director suggested that perhaps the zoo shouldn't allow political fundraisers going forward. Fine denied asking DeSantis to veto the item, but said that he had "given the governor's office my perspective."

"Democrats whine. It’s what they do," Fine said. "The governor has line-item veto authority to veto projects. He vetoed some of mine. So if only Democrat projects had been vetoed, I guess you could make that claim."

Budget winners and losers: Brevard projects that made Florida's 2023-24 budget -- and what got vetoed

But, with many GOP-sponsored projects vetoed, "I don’t know how you can make that claim that these were political," said Fine, who also sponsored 19 projects totaling $33.6 million that got into into the budget.

Among the other Brevard projects backed by GOP legislators and vetoed by DeSantis were $4.9 million for an inflow project for the Indian River Lagoon; a total of $2.5 million for two projects at the American Police Hall of Fame & Museum in Titusville; $2 million to strengthen jetties at Sebastian Inlet; and $200,000 for the Harry & Harriette V. Moore Cultural Complex in Mims for cultural programs and animatronic figures.

In all, about 90 Brevard-specific allocations made the budget and about a dozen were vetoed.

Ryan Dailey and Jim Turner of News Service of Florida contributed to this story.

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

Tyler Vazquez is the North Brevard and Brevard County Government Watchdog Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Vazquez at 321-917-7491 or tvazquez@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @tyler_vazquez

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Were DeSantis budget vetoes driven by politics as some suggest?