Florida News That Impacts You – June 16th, 2023
Bottom Line: Your daily recap of the biggest news from around the state that impacts you in South Florida.
- Governor DeSantis signed eight bills into law on Thursday including... What the governor refers to as the Framework for Freedom Budget. The budget includes $2.7 billion in additional tax cuts over last year’s levels, record K-12 funding of $26.8 billion, which includes per pupil funding that’s $405 more per student. There’s an additional $1.6 billion for the Everglades Restoration Project and the budget will immediately reduce Florida’s debt by $400 million. The total budget approved by the governor totals $116.5 billion for the 2023-2024 fiscal year. Related...
- The Governor did use the line-item-veto to cut $511 million in projects approved by the legislature in the budget – with most of the cuts consistent with recommendations by Florida TaxWatch – via their Budget Turkeys report. Projects vetoed in Palm Beach County included a Delray Beach Public Seawall project, a Delray Beach Historical Campus drainage and parking project, A Delray Beach playground project, a Juno Beach drainage project, a Rivera Beach school outreach project, a West Palm Beach Command vehicle, a Palm Beach County Discounted bus pass program, Road repaving in Mangonia Park, Palm Beach Historic Fire Station renovation and a Jupiter cyber security project.
- Palm Beach County’s regional superintendent, Peter Licata, has been hired as Superintendent for the Broward County School District replacing Vikki Cartwright who was ousted as superintendent after fewer than two years on the job.
- A tropical wave off of the coast of Africa is now being given a 40% chance of development over the next seven days according to the National Hurricane Center. If the system is to develop, it would likely happen over the southern Atlantic by mid-week next week.
- Gas prices were lower by a penny on Thursday. Statewide the average price for regular unleaded is $3.44 per gallon – 5 cents higher than a week ago. In Palm Beach County the average price is $3.61 per gallon, which is the second highest in the state.