Legislators finalized the state budget Tuesday, agreeing to a lower budget than last year and coming almost $3 billion below what the governor proposed.
A final vote is scheduled for Friday.
The $114.5 billion budget for fiscal year 2026-2027 features a 4% pay increase for state law enforcement officers, firefighters and park rangers and a bump in the minimum salary for correctional officers.
Education will receive $35.1 billion in funding with a historic $30 billion going toward public schools – an increase of $736 million from last year. The legislature approved $79 million to address declining public school enrollment, to cushion a loss of revenue due to a “significant decrease” in student enrollment over the forecasted amount.
Per student funding will go up by $150 and the Base Student Allocation by $85. Over $1.55 billion will go toward teacher raises with a focus on veteran teachers.
“Our goal was to focus much of our per student increase on flexible funds. Cutting red tape and increasing opportunities to level the playing field between public and private schools has been a priority of the Senate for several years,” said Sen. Danny Burgess, R-Zephyrhills, who chaired the Senate Appropriations Committee on Pre-K-12 Education. “This budget reflects that policy, maximizing opportunities for local school districts to spend funds as they see fit to educate the 3.2 million students they serve statewide. We are also funding family empowerment scholarships for nearly 500,000 students as Florida remains the national leader in parental choice in education.”
The budget provides a total of $11.9 billion for higher education, over $42 billion for health and human services, over $8 billion for criminal and civil justice, $15.8 billion for transportation, tourism and economic development, and almost $9 billion for agriculture, environment, and general government.
Senate President Ben Albritton called it a balanced budget that aimed to limit the financial burden taxes and regulations place on Floridians.
“To keep taxes low, state government has to live within its means, pay down debt, and save for the future. These key principles are shared by the Senate, House, and Governor DeSantis and reflect the sound financial stewardship Floridians expect and deserve,” said Albritton.
“Floridians are counting on us to maximize the use of their tax dollars by responsibly investing in key functions of government in a meaningful way, chief among these are education, health care, public safety, as well as our environmental, transportation, and clean water infrastructure. Through this budget, we are holding the line on spending, living within our means and striking the right balance between spending and saving.”
