SFY 2026 – 27 House & Senate Budget

HEALTH, SAFETY, AND JUSTICE 

Shared County/State Juvenile Detention: The House and Senate proposed budgets estimate the counties’ portion of county/state cost-sharing for Juvenile Detention to be $81.6 million and $81.9 million, respectively.  

Community Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services: Funded at approximately $1.3 billion in the House proposed budget and $1.3 billion in the Senate’s proposed budget. 

Community Action Treatment (CAT) Teams:   The House and Senate budgets direct $41.5 million to the Department of Children and Families (DCF to contract with providers throughout the state for operation of CAT teams, which provide community-based services for children (aged 11 to 21) with mental health and/or substance abuse diagnoses.  

Public Safety, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Local Matching Grant Program: $15 million in the House and $15 million in the Senate for this grant program, which funds county services that support adults or youth in behavioral crises, or at risk of entering the criminal justice system.  

Crime Labs: The House and Senate proposed budgets allocate approximately $85.9 million and $84.5 million, respectively, in grants and aid to local governments for criminal investigations. 

Homeless Programs Challenge Grants: The House and Senate proposed budgets both allocate approximately $5.2 million to DCF for challenge grants, which are awarded to lead agencies of homeless assistance continuums of care. 

Law Enforcement Recruitment Bonus Program: The House and Senate proposed $20 million, respectively. 

AGRICULTURAL & ENVIRONMENT   

Water Quality Highlights:

• Septic-to-Sewer Improvements: The House and Senate budget proposals allocate $175.4 million and $125 million, respectively, to the Wastewater Grant Program, established in s. 403.0673, F.S., providing grant funding for projects to construct, upgrade or expand wastewater facilities, to provide advanced wastewater treatment, and to convert private septic tanks to public sewer networks. 
• Water Quality Enhancement and Accountability: The Senate budget earmarks $4 million in nonrecurring funds to the Department of Environmental Protection to expand statewide water quality analytics for the nutrient over-enrichment assessment and water quality information portal. The House Budget does not include funding for this purpose. 
• Water Quality Improvement Grant Program:  
  • The House and Senate allocate $50 million for reductions in harmful discharges to the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie Estuaries (Everglades)
  • The House allocates $25 million for water quality improvement projects within the proximity of the Indian River Lagoon. The Senate budget does not include funding for this purpose. 
• Total Maximum Daily Loads: The House allocates $25 million to DEP for innovative water treatment projects that demonstrate the ability to most rapidly achieve department verified phosphorous and/or nitrogen load reductions consistent with the nutrient load reduction goals and total maximum daily loads established by the department. The department may also provide cost-share funding for innovative nutrient removal projects. The Senate budget does not include funding for this purpose. 
• Harmful Algal Blooms: The House and Senate allocate $10 million for innovative technologies and short-term solutions for addressing harmful algal blooms in fresh waterbodies; funds may be used for the red tide emergency grant program and to support local government efforts in cleaning beach and coastal areas. Funds may also be used to implement water quality treatment technologies, identified by the department, near water control structures in Lake Okeechobee. 
• Springs Restoration: The House and Senate proposed budgets allocate $50 million from the Land Acquisition Trust Fund for land acquisition to protect springs and for capital projects that protect the quality and quantity of water that flow from springs. 
• Alternative Water Supply: The House and Senate budgets allocate $50 million to the water supply and water resource development grant program to help communities plan for and implement conservation, reuse and other water supply and water resource development projects. Priority funding will be given to regional projects in the areas of greatest need and for projects that provide the greatest benefit. The department shall identify and research all viable alternative water supply resources and provide an assessment of funding needs critical to supporting Florida’s growing economy. 

Florida Forever: The proposed Senate budget allocates $35 million for the acquisition of environmentally endangered and unique/irreplaceable lands. The proposed House budget does not allocate funding.  

National Recreational Trail Grants: The proposed House and Senate budget allocate $3 million to provide financial assistance for the development and maintenance of recreational trails, trailheads and trailside facilities for both nonmotorized and motorized recreational trail uses.  

Beach Management Funding Assistance Program: The proposed House and Senate budgets allocate $50 million and $64.1 million, respectively, to the Department of Environmental Protection for beach and inlet management projects consistent with any component of the comprehensive long-term management plan developed in accordance with section 161.161, Florida Statutes. Funds shall be used to fund post-construction monitoring and projects 1 through 4 on the Strategic Beach Management Plan and projects 1 through 6 on the Inlet Management Plan. 

Resilient Florida programs: The House and Senate proposed budgets allocate $100 million to the Department of Environmental Protection for Statewide Flooding and Sea Level Rise Resilience projects.   

The House and Senate also allocate $10 million and $20 million, respectively, for Resilient Florida planning grants to fund pre-construction activities.  

Mosquito control programs: The House and Senate proposed budgets allocate approximately $3.7 million. 

TRANSPORTATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 

Affordable Housing:

• State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) program: The proposed House and Senate budget allocated $165.7 million and $184.5 million, respectively for the State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP).  
• Affordable Housing Programs: The Legislature appropriated $70.8 million in the House and $250.8 million in the Senate for the Housing Finance Corporation (HFC) Affordable Housing Program. Of this total, the Senate designates $150 million for the State Apartment Incentive Loan Program, while the House does not provide a comparable dedicated SAIL allocation. 
• Hometown Heroes Housing Program: The House allocated $50 million and the Senate allocated $75 million to the Hometown Heroes program, making homeownership affordable for eligible frontline community workers such as law enforcement officers, firefighters, educators, healthcare professionals, childcare employees, and active military or veterans. 

Job Growth Grant Fund: The proposed Senate budget allocates $50 million.  

Visit Florida: The proposed House and Senate budget allocate $80 million. 

Transportation Disadvantaged Grants and Aids: The proposed House and Senate budgets allocate approximately $62.4 million and $66.4 million, respectively, for improved service delivery for transportation-disadvantaged individuals.  

Small County Outreach Program (SCOP): The proposed House and Senate budgets allocate approximately $81.9 million.  

Small County Resurface Assistance Program (SCRAP): The proposed House and Senate budgets allocate approximately $25.9 million.  

Rural Economic Development:  

• Rural Infrastructure Fund: The House and Senate proposed budgets allocate $5 million, to support local rural infrastructure projects such as broadband, roads, storm and wastewater systems, and telecommunications facilities.  
• Office of Rural Prosperity: The Senate proposed budget allocates $45 million for the Office of Rural Prosperity to implement the Rural Infrastructure Fund. Provided funds may be used to administer grants to units of local government within a rural area of opportunity, rural community as those terms are defined in section 288.0656, Florida Statutes, or to a regional economic development organization, a unit of local government, or an economic development organization substantially underwritten by a unit of local government for an infrastructure project located within an unincorporated area that has a population of 15,000 or less, has been in existence for 100 years or more, is contiguous to a rural community, and has been adversely affected by a natural disaster or presents a unique economic development opportunity of regional impact. The proposed House budget does not include funding for this program. 

GENERAL GOVERNMENT 

Library Grants and Library Cooperatives: The proposed House and Senate budgets allocate $21.5 million and $22.5 million, respectively. 

Fiscally Constrained County Funding: Both the proposed House and Senate budgets allocate $75.2 million, to offset the impacts of previously approved constitutional amendments on fiscally constrained counties. 

Emergency Distributions: The proposed House and Senate budgets allocate $35.3 million in emergency distribution revenue sharing for small counties. 

Local Cybersecurity Grant Program: The proposed House budget allocates $8.8 million to the Division of Emergency Management to administer the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program authorized in the federal Infrastructure and Investment and Jobs Act. The proposed Senate budget does not include funding for this purpose.  

Implementing Bill 

House budget implementing bill (HB 5003): 

Section 36 County Medicaid Cost share: Provides that local specially assessed funds used for direct payment program (DPP) payments made to hospitals serving Medicaid enrollees are not counted toward the state Medicaid expenditures. The implementing bill extends for another year the expiration of the language.  

Section 77 PFAS: makes a targeted, one-year timing change to Florida’s PFAS “kickout” provision—pushing back when the Department of Environmental Protection must step in with statewide cleanup target levels if federal standards are not yet finalized. Specifically, if the U.S. EPA has not finalized PFAS standards for drinking water, groundwater, and soil by January 1, 2027 (moved from January 1, 2026), DEP must adopt statewide cleanup target levels by rule—prioritizing PFOA and PFOS and using the statutory criteria—but those rules cannot take effect unless ratified by the Legislature. The implementing bill also makes clear this adjustment is temporary by setting the amendment to expire July 1, 2027, after which the statute reverts to its prior language. 

Section 94 Florida Law Enforcement Recruitment Bonus Payment Program: modifies the definition of employing agency removing references to non-state law enforcement agencies from the bonus program. 

Senate budget implementing bill (SB 2502)

As part of this year’s Senate budget implementing bill, SB 2502, the Senate folded in several major policy provisions from the Rural Renaissance bill (SB 250)—which the Senate previously passed on the floor—by placing them directly into the implementing language tied to the budget. In practice, SB 2502 establishes the Office of Rural Prosperity within the Department of Commerce and directs it to serve as a statewide hub for rural coordination and technical assistance, including the creation of regional rural community liaison centers to help rural local governments navigate state resources. It also creates the Renaissance Grants Program, aimed at helping eligible “growth-impeded” counties reverse long-term decline by focusing on retaining and attracting residents—giving people a reason to stay—so communities can spur organic economic growth, expand business opportunity, and improve overall quality of life. Finally, SB 2502 establishes the Public Infrastructure Smart Technology Grant Program within the Office of Rural Prosperity to support smart-technology public infrastructure projects in rural areas of opportunity, and it extends for one fiscal year an existing requirement on how certain appropriated Rural Infrastructure Fund dollars must be distributed. 

Section 41 County Medicaid Cost share: Provides that local specially assessed funds used for direct payment program (DPP) payments made to hospitals serving Medicaid enrollees are not counted toward the state Medicaid expenditures. The implementing bill extends for another year the expiration of the language. 

Conforming Bills 

HB 5203 Government Accountability 

The bill creates the Florida Accountability Office (FAO) within the Legislature, consolidating existing audit entities and establishing a new Public Integrity Division with investigative authority. While much of the bill reorganizes audit functions, the bill also expands legislative oversight tools affecting counties and other local governments. This is the second consecutive session that the House has proposed this concept. Within the House GAA (HB 5001), the House proposes funding the FAO with $53.5 million from general revenue. 

The bill authorizes complaint-driven investigations into the expenditure of public funds, including those of counties, and permits inspection of records, operations, and physical locations. Beginning in FY 2027–2028, the FAO must randomly review legislatively defined appropriations projects, which may include county projects funded through specific line-item appropriations. The bill also authorizes enforcement of legislative subpoenas in circuit court and retains the ability to withhold certain state funds for audit or reporting noncompliance. 

The bill: 

• Creates a legislative Public Integrity Division with complaint-driven investigative authority. 
• Requires random review of state-funded appropriations projects beginning FY 2027–2028. 
• Expands authority to inspect local government records and facilities. 
• Authorizes circuit court enforcement of legislative subpoenas. 
• Maintains revenue withholding authority for audit noncompliance. 
• Increases centralized legislative oversight of counties and political subdivisions.

Documentary Stamp Tax Distributions

HB 5501 restores funding of South Florida Regional Transit Authority reversing a provision in HB 7031, last session’s tax package redirecting the same distribution back to the Florida Rail Enterprise. The bill amends s. 201.15, F.S., to change the distribution of documentary stamp taxes by redirecting a portion of the collections that are currently deposited in general revenue and deposits those revenues in the State Transportation Trust Fund. Current law allocates these funds among the Small County Outreach Program, the Strategic Intermodal System and the Transportation Regional Incentive Program. The additional distribution of $60 million provided by the bill directs the new funding for the Florida Rail Enterprise, reinstating a revenue distribution that was eliminated during the 2025 Legislative Session. The distributions in current law for Small County Outreach Program, the Strategic Intermodal System and the Transportation Regional Incentive Program are not changed by the bill. 

Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund

Both the House and the Senate support continuing the Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund (EPRF) within the Executive Office of the Governor. However, they differ in how the fund may be used and the degree of legislative oversight and fiscal controls applied to those expenditures. 

The Senate proposal (SB 7040) largely continues the fund as it currently exists. The EPRF was set to expire on February 17, 2026. The Senate bill re-creates the fund and extends its termination date to December 31, 2027, consistent with constitutional requirements for periodic trust fund review. The bill does not make significant changes to allowable uses or add new restrictions, effectively maintaining the current structure. 

The House proposal (HB 5503) also re-creates the fund but adds additional guardrails and oversight requirements. In the engrossed version, the House expands allowable uses to include natural, manmade, and technological emergencies. However, expenditures for manmade or technological emergencies — and renewed natural emergencies — are subject to enhanced legislative notice and review, and legislative leadership may object if a proposed action exceeds delegated authority or legislative intent. The bill also prohibits spending on aircraft, boats, or motor vehicles and requires that federal reimbursements be deposited into General Revenue rather than back into the EPRF. 

The House further requires detailed quarterly reporting to legislative leadership and extends the fund’s termination date to July 1, 2030, with retroactive application. The differing approaches reflect an ongoing policy debate regarding the use of emergency funds for immigration-related response activities, with the House emphasizing additional guardrails and legislative review and the Senate maintaining the current framework. 

FRS Contribution Rates & Special Risk COLA 

The House and Senate amended the employer contribution rates for the Florida Retirement System (FRS) in their respective conforming bills, HB 5205 – State Administered Retirement System and SB 7028– Retirement.  

While the House bill only makes the yearly adjustments, the Senate bill makes additional policy changes including: 

• Allowing an elected officer, other than an officer serving as a legislator, who has completed his or her Deferred Optional Retirement Program (DROP) participation, to receive the DROP accumulations after reaching 59½ years of age without terminating from the office. This is the only authorized in-service distribution for the FRS. 
• Establishing an alternative cost-of-living adjustment for eligible Special Risk Class members. Beginning July 1, 2026, and each July 1 thereafter, an eligible special risk class member who has been retired for at least five years will receive a cost-of-living increase of no less than 1.5 percent. To be eligible, the retiree must have completed either six years (if initially enrolled in the FRS prior to July 1, 2011) or 8 years (otherwise) of creditable service in the Special Risk Class. 
• The impact of the COLA adjustment is estimated to be $173 million for counties 
• The impact for the employer contributions based upon the proposed statutory rates is $70.5 million less than current rates, a net positive for counties. 
• Therefore, statewide county impact of the legislation is estimated to be $102.5 million. 
• An additional provision made minor modifications to disability coverage rates for special risk classes, but impacts have not been estimated. 

The charts below show the revised employer contribution rates for 1) the normal plan costs, 2) the unfunded actuarial liability of the system.