Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a $117.6 billion state budget for fiscal year 2026-27 which includes $1.56 billion for boosting teacher pay, $665 million for Everglades restoration, $127.5 million for the Casey DeSantis Cancer Research Program and other cancer-related initiatives, and more while speaking at a press conference in Tampa this week.
"If you just kept spending constant from where we were four years ago, and just based on inflation, that would have put us to $132.5 billion. So, we are not only spending less in nominal terms, which we are, but really far less in terms of inflation adjusted," DeSantis said.
Gov. DeSantis added that $200 million will go to Florida teachers with ten or more years' experience, prioritizing the state's effort to recognize some of the best in the field.
"Some of those folks are going to see a bump, and we're happy to be able to deliver that, and we know that that's something that's really, really good," DeSantis said.
Further on education, the budget includes $3.8 billon for the state's university system, $1.8 billion for state colleges, including $156.8 million for the state's historically black college and universities (HBCUs), and $705.2 million for Florida's Bright futures program, which gives financial aid to high academic Florida high school graduates by covering a portion of their tuition and fees at eligible colleges in the state.
In addition, Gov. DeSantis' budget includes key funding for the state's Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Reservoir, widely known as the "Crown Jewel" of Everglades restoration. The Everglades is roughly 1.5 million acres and critical to South Florida's water supply, as well as providing a natural barrier for coastal communities from flood damage and other severe weather.
Eric Eikenberg, CEO of the Everglades Foundation, a non-profit dedicating to protecting and restoring the wetland, thanked Gov. DeSantis for funding to the ecosystem through a release.
“Governor Ron DeSantis today signed a budget that continues to move Everglades restoration forward, advancing the world’s largest ecosystem restoration effort and one of the most important projects for the state’s environment and economy," Eikenberg said. “This funding also includes what is needed to complete the state portion of the EAA Reservoir, the central and critical piece of the Everglades restoration puzzle that is set to be realized five years ahead of schedule."
A key initiative by First Lady Casey DeSantis, a breast cancer survivor, Gov. DeSantis' budget adds $30 million for the Cancer Collect Collaborative research incubator for pediatric cancer research and $70 million for the Florida Cancer Innovation Fund to advance cancer treatments using new technology.
Gov. DeSantis added the budget includes $18 billion in reserves and a fully funded "rainy day" fund. DeSantis also vetoed $1.6 billion from the budget and noted he has vetoed $10.6 billion as governor, more than any other Florida governor total at $5.6 billion in line-item vetoes since 1998.
