Senate President Simpson on State Budget: “We are Certainly in a Better Place Today”

Tallahassee (FNN) – Source: Senate Majority Office // Senate Bill 2500, the General Appropriations Act, a balanced state budget for the upcoming fiscal year, was signed into law this morning by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Statements from Senate President Wilton Simpson (R-Trilby) and Senator Kelli Stargel (R-Lakeland), Chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, are below.

“With Governor DeSantis’ leadership in keeping Florida free and open for business, we are certainly in a better place today than when we started our budget planning last summer. Without raising taxes, this balanced budget makes significant investments in key infrastructure priorities that will create jobs and further bolster Florida’s economy, keeping us on the road to a full economic recovery. We also made key investments in Florida’s Child Welfare System that will help more children find the loving, permanent families they want and need earlier in life,” said President Simpson. “We took the first big step toward increasing the minimum wage for our state workers, bringing wages up to $13 per hour, which will benefit more than 10,000 state workers, and provide bonuses to state and local first responders, teachers, and child care providers, as well as nearly $1 billion to provide child care assistance for health care employees and emergency responders.”

“This is the responsible, forward-thinking budget we need at this critical time. We are living within our means and funding the ongoing, key functions of government with recurring state funds,” said Senator Stargel. “With key investments in infrastructure and significant reserves, this budget makes our state well-prepared to both address potential future challenges and seize upcoming opportunities as more and more people call our great state home. Under Governor DeSantis’ leadership, this budget will keep our state well-positioned to bounce back from COVID-19 better than ever before.”

For more information on SB 2500 and related legislation, please visit www.FLSenate.gov.