DeSantis Says Opponents of the 'Freedom First' Budget 'Could be Held Accountable'

Ft. Lauderdale, FL -  Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) held a press conference at Broward Health Medical Center where he signed the Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Forms of Dementia Education and Public Awareness (SB 806) into law.

The bill was funded by the recently signed "Freedom First" budget Gov. DeSantis championed throughout the 2022 legislative session.

When asked about those Florida lawmakers who opposed his "Freedom First", DeSantis said that they "could be held accountable" before listing off the positives his budget funded, including an increase in teacher pay, Everglades restoration, and "tax relief," along with wounded veteran healthcare funding.

"People could be held accountable for the choices that they made," said Gov. DeSantis. "If you look at what we did in the budget, we did more tax relief than we've ever done in the state of Florida.  If you look at what we did in the budget, we did more for conservation, Everglades restoration, and water quality than we've ever done in the state of Florida, and in education, biggest increase in teacher compensation in the history of the state of Florida, we did a $800 million categorical just for teacher compensation, that's the floor, you could obviously do more."

DeSantis' "Freedom First" Budget was passed almost unanimously by Republicans in the Florida House and Senate. A handful of Democratic lawmakers joined the only Republican legislator, Rep. Anthony Sabatini, in voting against DeSantis' Freedom First budget.

"We've got great policy on environment, we've got great policy on education choice, we've done a lot to make sure our school system should teach kids to learn and education them, but not indoctrinate them," added DeSantis.

DeSantis vetoed $3.1 billion for projects he believed were either wasteful or unnecessary.

“Florida has preserved freedom and kept the economy open, which has enabled the state to outperform the nation in jobs, growth, and business formations,” said Governor Ron DeSantis after signing the budget. “Our commitment to freedom has paid off. Our responsible fiscal policies have put the state in a strong position to make the record investments needed to support growth and opportunity in spite of the reckless fiscal and monetary policies of the Biden administration.”