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Florida: Governor Ron DeSantis Announces the Floridians First 2026-2027 Budget

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ORLANDO, Fla.— Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced his budget proposal for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026–27. The proposed Floridians First Budget totals $117.4 billion, including $16.75 billion in reserves and $250 million towards debt reduction. Under Governor DeSantis' leadership, Florida has achieved record success, ranking #1 in education, net in-migration, entrepreneurship, and new business formations, with 3.8 million new businesses created since 2019, all while saving taxpayers money.

The Floridians First Budget continues Florida's strong fiscal discipline with an additional $250 million in recurring accelerated debt paydown, putting the state on track to retire more than 50 percent of its tax-supported debt in FY 2026-27. During his two terms, the Budget Stabilization Fund has more than tripled, rising from $1.5 billion to the constitutional maximum of $5 billion and is once again fully funded with this year's $118 million investment.

"Since I became governor, we have run budget surpluses, reduced the state's legacy debt by more than 50%, and enacted record tax relief," said Governor Ron DeSantis. "Today I announced the 'Floridians First' Budget, which will keep Florida on the course of fiscal responsibility and delivers on the priorities that have made Florida the greatest state in America."

To read the budget highlights, click here.

To read the transmittal letter, click here.

To read the budget one pager, click here.

Tax Relief for Today and Tomorrow

Since taking office, Governor DeSantis has delivered nearly $9.7 billion in tax relief for Florida families and businesses, including the full repeal of the commercial rent tax, saving small businesses $2.7 billion annually.

Governor DeSantis has approved a series of permanent and temporary sales tax holidays and exemptions to provide lasting tax relief for Florida families. Permanent annual tax holidays now include back-to-school items and disaster preparedness supplies, along with new permanent exemptions for baby and toddler products, diapers, sunscreen and insect repellent, and admissions to Florida State Parks. In addition, the Governor has authorized temporary sales tax holidays for Freedom Summer recreation activities and skilled worker tools, as well as exemptions for impact-resistant windows and doors, appliances and gas ranges, firearms and crossbows and related accessories, camping supplies, and fishing supplies.

In addition, the Governor's Budget recommends a second consecutive Second Amendment Sales Tax Holiday, running September 7 through December 31, 2026, on:
  • Firearms and ammunition
  • Crossbows and accessories
  • Camping supplies
  • Fishing supplies

Following the successful 2025 launch, the holiday expands to include additional items such as decoys and doubles the eligible price limit for fishing bait and tackle. If enacted, the holiday will save Floridians an estimated $35 million next year.

The Governor's Budget sets aside $300 million to support ongoing policy considerations, ensuring that any statewide property tax relief framework is implemented in a stable and fiscally sound manner for all 67 counties.

The Floridians First Budget continues the Governor's leadership in protecting Florida taxpayers from environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing mandates and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) financial policies at the local level.

The Budget recommends new safeguards against locally imposed ESG-related taxes and additional financial management protections to prevent the use of public funds to finance DEI mandates.

Ensuring Government Efficiency

Florida state government continues to operate efficiently, maintaining the lowest number of employees per capita among the five most populous states. Following extensive budget reviews across state agencies, and ongoing DOGE efficiency efforts, the Governor's Budget proposes the elimination of 354 positions. Net position reductions under the Governor's tenure have reached nearly 1,000, even as Florida's population has grown by just over 10 percent. These combined reductions, efficiencies, and related DOGE efforts equate to savings of $850 million. As stewards of taxpayer dollars, there is always a balance of ensuring government is delivering the actual goods and services that its citizens need and want. We must always keep Floridians first.

Retaining and Recruiting Quality Talent

While identifying efficiencies, the Governor's Budget also prioritizes workforce recruitment and retention through the following pay adjustments:
  • 2 percent cost-of-living adjustment for all state employee
  • Total 5 percent pay increases for:
    • Sworn Law Enforcement Officers
    • Florida Park Rangers
    • Judges
    • Attorneys and Information Technology professionals

Investing in Florida's K-12 Students

Florida is the education state—ranking #1 in a variety of different educational categories, including overall education and education freedom. Florida has prioritized providing our students with a high-quality education that fits their individual needs. The Floridians First Budget builds on Florida's record investments in education, providing a historic $30.6 billion in funding for the K-12 public school system. This will include the highest per student investment ever, providing $9,406 per student, an increase of $279 over last year. This investment will also cover the costs of nearly 476,000 students who are projected to participate in Florida's school choice program—the Family Empowerment Scholarship.

Additional funding highlights for Florida's K-12 students include:
  • $1.56 billion to provide salary increases for teachers and other instructional personnel, an increase of $200 million over FY 2025-2026.
  • $1.71 billion for early childhood education, including $483.4 million for Voluntary Prekindergarten.
  • $300 million for the Safe Schools Allocation, an increase of $10 million over FY 2025-2026.
  • $17.5 million to support civics engagement programs, including $10 million for the Florida Civics Seal of Excellence Program.

Florida Leads the Nation for Higher Education

Florida has ranked #1 for Higher Education for nearly a decade, while also holding the line on tuition to provide a quality education at an affordable price. The Governor's Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Budget builds on Florida's success and ensures that Florida will continue to have the top education system in the country.

For colleges and universities, the Floridians First Budget recommends:
  • $1.9 billion for the Florida College System
  • $4 billion for the State University System
  • $100 million for continued recruitment and retention of quality faculty at our state universities.

$146 million for Florida's four Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

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Providing a quality education that leads to quality jobs is an important part of ensuring that Florida's workforce can continue to meet the demand of the job market. When the Governor took office, he set a goal of being the best state in the nation for workforce education by the year 2030, and Florida is well on its way to meet this goal, investing more than $12 billion in workforce education since 2019. The Governor's Budget continues this progress by investing $800 million for workforce education programs, ensuring that Floridians can continue to access workforce education opportunities that lead to high-demand, high-wage jobs. This investment includes:
  • $130 million for nursing education programs to help address nursing vacancies.
  • $100 million for the Workforce Development Capitalization Incentive Grant Program to expand or establish career and technical education programs
  • $20 million for the Governor's Pathways to Career Opportunities Grant Program to support pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs for high school and college students.

Bolstering Florida's Record Economic Growth

Florida is the fastest growing state in the nation because, under the leadership of Governor Ron DeSantis, Florida has championed freedom-first policies and made continued investments that create opportunities for Florida families to thrive. Florida has become the national leader for economic prosperity, with a nearly $1.8 trillion economy representing close to 65 percent growth during Governor DeSantis' administration, making Florida the 15th largest economy in the world. In 2025, U.S. News & World Report ranked Florida as the #1 economy in the nation for the third consecutive year. The Floridians First Budget continues to make smart investments to support Florida's infrastructure, workforce, and economy to ensure we meet the demands of our growing state.

To support Florida's transportation network and infrastructure, the Floridians First Budget invests:
  • $14.3 billion for the state transportation work program to construct and maintain Florida's transportation network.
  • $4.9 billion for highway construction and maintenance to include 181 new lane miles, and $1.4 billion to resurface 2,622 lane miles.

$155.5 million in seaport infrastructure improvements to ensure Florida's ports continue to have capacity while the rest of the nation struggles from supply chain backups at seaports, and $388.8 million for aviation improvements.

To help create new jobs and support business development throughout the state, the Floridians First Budget invests:
  • $50 million for the Job Growth Grant Fund to support local infrastructure and workforce training projects.
  • $80 million to continue marketing efforts through VISIT FLORIDA.


Florida's rural communities are an important part of the success of our state, and the Floridians First Budget continues to provide our rural communities with the resources they need to thrive. This includes:
  • $30 million for the Rural Infrastructure Fund to support local infrastructure projects that help attract jobs.
  • $81.9 million for the Small County Outreach Program to assist small county governments in repairing infrastructure.


As Florida continues to grow and attract new workers, it is important to ensure that they can access housing in the communities that they work. To support workforce housing, the Floridians First Budget includes:
  • $170.8 million for the State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) program
  • $72.9 million for the State Apartment Incentive Loan (SAIL) program
  • $50 million for the Hometown Heroes Housing program to provide down payment and closing cost assistance for hard-working Floridian heroes, including law enforcement officers, firefighters, educators, healthcare professionals, childcare employees, and active military or veterans.


Backing Florida's Law Enforcement and Military

Governor DeSantis has always recognized the invaluable contributions made to Florida by its law enforcement and military communities. They risk their lives every day to protect Floridians, and they are on the front lines of combatting illegal immigration into our state. To support Florida's law enforcement and military communities, the Floridians First Budget includes:
  • More than $13.5 million on top of the 2 percent statewide increase, for a total of 5 percent, to pay our state law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line every day.
  • Increasing correctional officer starting pay from $22 to $28 per hour, funding for 500 additional correctional officer positions and $56.4 million funding to expand capacity at existing facilities.
  • $25 million for the sixth year of the Law Enforcement Recruitment Bonus Program, which provides a signing bonus of up to $5,000 for those hired as first-time law enforcement officers in Florida. Of these funds, up to $5 million is provided for grants to be awarded to support the hiring of firefighters holding paramedic or emergency medical technician certifications
  • $1.5 million to provide up to $5,000 retention bonuses to guardsmen that re-enlist in the National Guard for an additional three years.
  • $15 million to continue the State Assistance for Fentanyl Eradication (S.A.F.E.) Program to continue to assist local governments in their fight against drugs.
  • $1.5 million for the Defense Reinvestment Grant Program, which provides funding for infrastructure projects that make a positive impact on the military value of installations within the state
  • $6 million for the Florida Defense Support Commission, which supports the Florida defense industry by awarding grants and guiding the future of military installation operations in the state.

Protecting Florida's Everglades and Water Quality & Supply

Florida's natural resources are directly tied to the economic strength of the state and provide important defenses against natural disasters such as hurricanes. Florida has made record investments in protecting our natural resources and conserving the Florida way of life, and Governor DeSantis continues this commitment in the Floridians First Budget.

During Governor DeSantis' first term as Governor, he signed record investments to protect Florida's Everglades and support water quality, investing a record $3.3 billion. At the start of his second term, he called for a historic $3.5 billion investment over the next four years. The Governor's Budget recommends $1.4 billion for Everglades restoration and water quality, bringing the total investment during the Governor's second term to $6 billion, and bringing the investment during the Governor's tenure to nearly $9.5 billion.

This includes continued investments in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), the landmark dollar-for-dollar commitment between the state and the Federal government to restore America's Everglades. This summer, during the 25th Anniversary year of CERP, we reached a historic agreement with the Trump Administration to accelerate CERP, including critical components of the Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP) and EAA Reservoir.  Of the $810 million dedicated to Everglades restoration, the budget allocates $681 million for CERP.

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Within that amount $586 million of those funds directly supports CEPP, fully funding all remaining components of state-funded portions of the EAA Reservoir and CEPP South-Blue Shanty Flow-way.  This investment ensures that the landmark of Everglades restoration is achieved and delivered five years ahead of schedule.

In addition, the budget provides $50 million for specific project components designed to achieve the greatest reductions in harmful discharges to the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie Estuaries and $79 million for the Northern Everglades and Estuaries Protection Program.

Recognizing the importance of both the Everglades and South Florida's water supply to the state's economy, the Governor's Budget calls for recurring funding to maintain completed everglades restoration projects. These funds are a direct result of the Governor's debt repayment program which has reduced the need for debt service payments from the Land Acquisition Trust Fund (LATF).

To continue protecting Florida's water quality and supply, the Governor is recommending $408 million for targeted water quality improvements to achieve significant, meaningful, and measurable nutrient reductions in key waterbodies. This includes:
  • $150 million for the expanded Water Quality Improvement Grant Program for projects to construct, upgrade or expand wastewater facilities, including septic to sewer conversions, stormwater management projects, and agricultural nutrient reduction projects;
  • $100 million for priority areas of the Indian River Lagoon and Biscayne Bay.
  • $50 million to accelerate projects to meet scientific nutrient reduction goals, called Total Maximum Daily Loads
  • $100 million for the Lower Kissimmee Basin Stormwater Treatment Area project to reduce the levels of phosphorus and nitrogen in the Kissimmee River prior to flowing into Lake Okeechobee.

Additional water quality investments include $50 million to restore Florida's world-renowned springs and for land acquisition to protect springsheds as well as $65 million to improve water quality and combat the impacts of harmful algal blooms, including blue-green algae and red tide. The Floridians First Budget includes $60 million for the Alternative Water Supply Grant Program to help communities plan for and implement vital conservation, reuse and other alternative water supply projects.

Conserving Florida's Natural Resources

To support conservation lands and to protect the great outdoors for generations of Floridians to enjoy, the Floridians First Budget invests $70 million in Florida's State Parks for infrastructure improvements and resource management with the goal of maintaining Florida's world class parks, which have won the National Gold Medal a record four times. The budget also includes more than $150 million to protect Florida's conservation lands and waterways to ensure Florida's prized properties are accessible for future generations of Florida families. This funding includes $115 million for the Florida Forever Program, the state's blueprint for conserving Florida's natural and recreation lands, including those located within the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

Florida is home to 1,300 miles of coastline which plays an important role in Florida's economy and quality of life, attracting visitors from across the world and providing an invaluable defense against hurricanes. The Floridians First Budget includes $75 million in beach nourishment funding to bolster our shorelines.

The Floridians First Budget also prioritizes the protection of Florida's working agricultural lands and family farms, providing an annual appropriation of $200 million to the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program to enter into perpetual conservation easements. In order to preserve Florida's iconic citrus industry, the budget invests more than $19 million for citrus research and the Citrus Health Response Program. This includes $7 million for research and additional advertising by the Department of Citrus.

The Floridians First Budget also includes $25 million to restore Florida's Oyster reefs in Apalachicola Bay. Over the last two decades, bay wide declines in oyster reef size from over 2,000 acres to less than 100 acres resulted in a reduction of oyster populations that led to the ongoing fishery closure, instituted in 2020. This project will provide for continued restoration in Apalachicola Bay in support of sustainable oyster reefs that protect and enhance the ecosystem services this natural resource provides to the public.

To further protect Florida's rural areas and communities surrounded by Florida's beautiful forests, the Governor's Budget provides $4 million to support the replanting of trees and timber impacted by hurricanes and natural disasters, in addition to investing over $114 million in Florida's efforts to effectively combat wildfires including equipment, and wildfire suppression activities, such as prescribed burning.

The budget includes more than $12 million for the care and management of manatees, including $3 million for the restoration of seagrass to support the increased habitat and forage for Florida's state marine mammal.

Additionally, the Floridians First Budget includes $73 million in additional federal Community Development Block Grant funds for local hurricane recovery and hardening efforts throughout the state, including the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Program and the Community Development Block Grant Mitigation Program.

Promoting a Healthier Florida

Governor DeSantis has been steadfast in his commitment to supporting the healthy lives of Floridians. This includes providing support for those struggling with mental health and substance abuse and victims of human trafficking in addition to supporting Florida's seniors, Floridians with unique abilities, veterans, and Florida's mothers and children. The Governor has also prioritized critical cancer research and innovative treatments.

To support mental health resiliency and those suffering from substance abuse, the Floridians First Budget recommends:
  • More than $159 million for behavioral health services, including support for forensic bed capacity and operations of the state mental health treatment facilities.
  • More than $187 million from the nationwide Opioid Settlement Agreement to continue support for the Office of Opioid Recovery. Florida is using opioid settlement funds to expand life-saving treatment, prevention, and recovery services statewide, helping communities fight addiction, support families, and reduce opioid-related deaths
  • $31.8 million to continue the expansion of the CORE Network across the state, which has already served thousands of Floridians.

To support important cancer research, the Floridians First Budget includes:
  • Historic funding for cancer, with more than $278 million in funding for cancer research, including $40 million, an increase of $10 million in funding to support the Cancer Connect Collaborative Research Incubator, which has an initial focus on pediatric cancer research.
  • The proposed budget combines the existing $127.5 million for National Cancer Institute funding (NCI) with $60 million from the Florida Cancer Innovation Fund and adds $10 million in new funding to create the Casey DeSantis Cancer Innovation, Care, and Research Program. This unified $197.5 million investment streamlines and modernizes how Florida supports statewide cancer research.

The budget adds $5 million to expand testing for contaminants like heavy metals, bacteria, pesticides, and microplastics, ensuring safer food and household items for Floridians. This investment reduces health risks, promotes transparency, builds consumer confidence, and supports Florida's Make America Healthy Again Agenda.

To support Florida's mothers, their children, and the children in the child welfare system, the budget provides a $36.6 million, including $35.6 million in increased funding directed to Community-Based Care Lead Agencies through an updated model that better meets the needs of children and families. This investment supports foster families, improves placement stability, and expands access to services. It also covers adoption subsidies, a cost-of-living adjustment for foster parents, and enhanced support for youth in Extended Foster Care. Additionally, $1 million will expand statewide digital recruitment for foster parents and Guardian ad Litem volunteers, further strengthening stability and community connections for children.

To support Florida's seniors, the Floridians First Budget recommends:
  • An increase of $3 million to serve additional seniors as part of the Alzheimer's Disease Initiative.
  • An additional $7.5 million to increase services through the Community Care for the Elderly Program and the Home Care for the Elderly Program. Funding will provide additional support for seniors at risk for out of home placement.


To support Floridians with unique abilities, the Floridians First Budget includes an increase of over $20 million in funding to allow additional individuals with disabilities to be provided with necessary services through the Home and Community Based Services Waiver.

The Floridians First Budget invests an additional $8.6 million to support capital improvements for the state-run veterans' nursing homes.

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