On March 8th, 2024, the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate agreed to the budget for the State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2024-2025. The budget is the culmination of many rounds of budget negotiations throughout the legislative session. The Florida Legislature is constitutionally required to pass a state budget, officially titled the General Appropriations Act, or HB 5001, during the annual regular session. The Legislature completed the budget on time, passing HB 5001 and adjourning Sine Dine at 2:25 P.M.  

 

The House and Senate’s budget for State Fiscal Year 2024-25 totals approximately $117.5 billion, and represents a 0.37% increase from the previous SFY 2023 General Appropriations Act. The chart below summarizes a comparison of this year’s SFY 2024-25 budget and the budget approved from SFY 2023-24.   

Health and Human Services received the largest portion of funding for the budget in SFY 2024-25, totaling approximately $46.5 billion. This represents a 1.51% decrease in appropriation from the current year.  All educational programs and services combined received the second-largest amount of funding, totaling approximately $32.09 billion. This represents a increase of approximately 5.6% from the current fiscal year. 

 

Finally, Natural Resources, Environmental Issues, Growth Management and Transportation Expenditures represent the third largest portion of the budget in SFY 2024-25 with funding equaling approximately $22.6 billion.  

General Revenue expenditures for the SFY 2024-25 budget equal approximately $49.4 billion, while trust fund expenditures total approximately $68.07 billion. The chart below compares expenditures between the SFY 2024–2025 budget and the previous year’s budget for SFY 2023–2024 by fund type. 

COUNTY FUNDING HIGHLIGHTS 

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 

Shared County/State Juvenile Detention: The SFY 2024-25 budget estimates the counties’ portion of total Shared County/State Juvenile Detention to be $73,621,645. This represents an estimated increase of $3,242,579 from the current year’s budget, or approximately 4.6%. 

Community Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services: Funded at approximately $1.327 billion in the budget. 

Community Action Treatment (CAT) Teams: The SFY 2024-25 budget allocates $41.6 million, directed to DCF to contract with providers throughout the state for the operation of CAT teams, which provide community-based services for children (aged 11 to 21) with mental health and/or substance abuse diagnoses, this is the same budget as the previous fiscal year. 

Public Safety, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Local Matching Grant Program: The SFY 2024-25 budget allocates $9 million for the program, which supports county programs that serve adults or youth who are in behavioral crisis and at risk of entering the criminal justice system. This represents the same budget year funding as the previous fiscal year. 

Crime Labs: The SFY 2024-25 budget allocates slightly over $77 million in grants and aids to local governments for criminal investigations, which represents an 9.4% increase over the previous fiscal year. 

Homeless Programs Challenge Grants: The SFY 2024-25 budget allocates approximately $30.02 million, to DCF for challenge grants, which are awarded to lead agencies of homeless assistance continuums of care. Specifically. This additional funding represents an decrease from previous budget years.  

 

AGRICULTURAL & ENVIRONMENT   

Water Quality Highlights: 

  • Septic-to-Sewer Improvements: The SFY 2024-25 budget allocates $135 million,  provides wastewater grant program for projects to construct, upgrade or expand wastewater facilities, to provide advanced wastewater treatment and to convert from septic to sewer, as established in section 403.0673, F.S. 
  • Water Quality Enhancement and Accountability: The budget allocates $10.8 million for provided for increased water quality monitoring, the creation of a water quality public information portal, and for the establishment of the Blue-Green Algae Task Force. Funds may be used for administration and planning costs. The task force will support key funding and restoration initiatives to expedite nutrient reduction in  Lake  Okeechobee and the St.  Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries. The task force will identify priority projects for funding that are based on scientific data and build upon Basin Management Action Plans (BMAPs) to provide the largest and most meaningful nutrient reductions in key waterbodies, as well as make recommendations for regulatory changes 
  • Water Quality Improvement Grant Program:  
    • Allocates $50 million for reductions in harmful discharges to the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie Estuaries (Everglades). 
    • Allocates $75 million for water quality improvement projects within the proximity of the Indian River Lagoon.  
    • Allocates $20 million for septic to sewer and wastewater projects, that will improve the water quality of Biscayne Bay. 
  • Total Maximum Daily Loads: The SFY 2024-25 budget allocates $26.5 million for Total Maximum Daily Loads. Respectively 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. 
  • Harmful Algal Blooms: The SFY 2024-25 budget allocates $25.6 million for innovative technologies and short-term solutions for addressing harmful algal blooms in fresh waterbodies; funds may also 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 SFY 2024-25 budget allocates $55 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 SFY 2024-25 budget allocates $55 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. The House includes language to provide priority funding 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: $100 million 

Florida Recreation Development Assistance Grants: $10 million.   

Florida Communities Trust: $15 million 

Beach Management Funding Assistance Program: The SFY 2024-25 budget allocates $50 million provided to the Department of Environmental Protection for distribution to 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 may be used in accordance with section 161.101, Florida Statutes, for projects on annual ranked lists, storm repair projects, or projects on lands managed by the state.  

Resilient Florida Trust Fund and programs: The SFY 2024-25 budget allocates $100 million provided to the Department of    Environmental  Protection  for the Statewide Flooding and Sea Level Rise    Resilience  Plan,  year one, as submitted to the Governor, the President    of  the  Senate,  and  the  Speaker  of  the House of Representatives on    December  1,  2023, pursuant to section 380.093(5), Florida Statutes. In    the  event  that projects included in the plan are unable to continue or    if  excess  funds  are  identified  by  completed projects or ineligible    activities proposed in applications, the department may reallocate funds    to projects on its Statewide Flooding and Sea Level Rise Resilience Plan    to  the next project on the ranked list or to projects already funded in    year one that have identified funding needs in subsequent years. 

Additionally, an allocation of $20 million is granted for planning grants to fund preconstruction activities and $2 million for regional resilience coalitions 

Everglades Restoration: $614 million  

 

TRANSPORTATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 

Affordable Housing:  

  • State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) program: The Legislature appropriated $174 million respectively, for the State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP), as part of the affordable housing package signed into law. 
  • Affordable Housing Programs: $234 million was appropriated to The Florida Housing Finance Corporation for distribution.  
  • Hometown Heroes Housing Program: $100 million makes homeownership affordable for eligible frontline community workers such as law enforcement officers, firefighters, educators, healthcare professionals, childcare employees, and active military or veterans, as part of the affordable housing package signed into law. 

Job Growth Grant Fund: The SFY 2024-25 budget allocates $75 million.  

Visit Florida: The SFY 2024-25 budget allocates $30 million. 

Small County Outreach Program (SCOP): The SFY 2024-25 budget allocates $88.6 million. Specifically, $9,000,000 is provided for transportation projects in municipalities pursuant to section 339.2818(7), F.S. 

Small County Road Assistance Program (SCRAP): The SFY 2024-25 budget allocates $26.5 million 

 

Transportation:  

Transportation Disadvantaged Grants and Aids: The SFY 2024-25 budget allocates approximately $62.4 million. Specifically, $3,000,000 is provided to the Transportation Disadvantaged Commission for a competitive grant program to provide innovative and efficient transportation service delivery. Funds shall be used to provide competitive grants to community transportation coordinators for innovative service delivery that is more cost efficient for the program and time efficient for the users. Grants may be or projects in which a community transportation coordinator works with a non-traditional service provider, such as a transportation network company or other entity that provides door-to-door, on-demand, or scheduled transportation services. A county may submit one project that encompasses multiple goals or a single goal, such as providing cross-county mobility or reducing service gaps between existing routes and the user’s final destination. A county may not receive more than one award and may receive a maximum award of $750,000. Multiple counties may partner for a grant of up to $1,500,000 provided that the project includes a goal of providing regional mobility in addition to any other goals. A ten percent local match is required for all grants. All funds shall be used to provide direct services to transportation disadvantaged clients. 

Rural Economic Development:   

  • Broadband: The SFY 2023-24 budget allocate $100 million for Florida’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program (BEAD), which funds broadband Internet planning, deployment, mapping, equity, and adoption activities with a goal of providing high-speed, reliable broadband Internet service access to all Florida communities. 
  • Rural Infrastructure Fund: The SFY 2024-25 budget allocates $20 million to support local rural infrastructure projects such as broadband, roads, storm and wastewater systems, and telecommunications facilities. Specifically, $5,000,000 is provided as grant funding for the following Florida panhandle counties to facilitate the planning, preparing, and financing of infrastructure projects in these rural communities: Calhoun, Gadsden, Holmes, Jackson, Liberty, and Washington Counties. Eligible uses of these funds include roads or other remedies to transportation impediments; stormwater systems;   water or wastewater facilities;  and telecommunications facilities and broadband facilities. Grant funds are provided pursuant to section 288.0655(7), Florida Statutes. 

 

GENERAL GOVERNMENT 

Library Grants and Library Cooperatives: The SFY 2024-25 budget allocates approximately $18.7 million. 

Fiscally Constrained County Funding: The SFY 2024-25 budget allocates $70.67 million, to offset the impacts of previously approved constitutional amendments.   

Emergency Distributions: The SFY 2024-25 budget allocates $34.2 million in emergency distributions revenue sharing for small counties from the Local Government Half-Cent Sales Tax Clearing Trust Fund. 

Cybersecurity: Allocates $40 million in local government cybersecurity technical assistance grants. Department of Management Services will administer a competitive cybersecurity grant    program that transfers nonrecurring financial assistance to local governments for the development and enhancement of cybersecurity risk management programs. Grants may include funding to establish cybersecurity risk management programs, adopt cybersecurity standards, and implement vulnerability mitigation. No funding is provided for the department to  procure or manage cybersecurity capabilities on behalf of local governments. 

 

 

IMPLEMENTING & CONFORMING BILLS 

Appropriations Implementing and Conforming bills make certain changes to substantive law in order to implement the proposed General Appropriations Act. Implementing and Conforming Bill topics include:  

HB 5003 – Implementing the General Appropriations Act 

-County Juvenile Detention Payments 

Section 39 of the budget implementing bill provides that the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) has a responsibility to review a county’s juvenile detention cost sharing and may deduct from the shared revenue funds provided to counties in s. 218.23, F.S. for any county failure to meet their financial obligations under this section. The DJJ may make such deductions to the extent that it does not exceed a county’s capacity to comply with bond covenants on any shared revenue distributions pledged for debt service. Total DJJ cost sharing for the year FY 24-25 was 73,621,645. 

 

CONFORMING BILLS 

HB 151: Florida Retirement System  

 

The bill introduces multiple changes to the Florida Retirement System (FRS). It reinstates a 3 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for eligible FRS pension plan members enrolled before July 1, 2011, with limitations on COLA adjustment for benefits exceeding $150,000 annually. Additionally, member contribution rates are increased to better align with benefits earned by each employee class, while allocations to investment plan accounts for each membership class are raised. Furthermore, the FRS Preservation of Benefits Plan will close to new members starting July 1, 2026. Retired FRS members can now receive both employer compensation and retirement benefits, provided they are not reemployed within 6 months of retirement. Certain elected officers completing a DROP participation period by June 30, 2023, can stay in office and receive their accumulated DROP proceeds. Employer contribution rates for the FRS are adjusted based on annual actuarial valuation, with the bill declaring fulfillment of an important state interest. These adjustments are anticipated to have a significant fiscal impact on funds appropriated by the Legislature for employee salaries and benefits, particularly with increased employer retirement contribution rates for FRS Employers. 

 

Normal employer contribution rates for each membership class of Florida Retirement System (For both the Defined Benefit and Defined Investment plans) are amended as follows: 

To address the unfunded actuarial liabilities (UAL) of the Florida Retirement System, the bill amends the current contribution rates for each membership class as follows: 

Annual Tax Package, HB 7073, Passes on Final Day 

The bill introduces temporary sales and use tax exemptions for specific items during designated periods, including “Back-to-School” and “Disaster Preparedness” items. It also extends certain ad valorem property tax benefits, increases the value of exemptions for disabled ex-servicemembers, and adjusts property tax administration. The bill also includes a series of ad valorem exemptions for property used for affordable housing purposes.  

 

Changes to corporate income tax include adopting the internal revenue code, creating tax credits for employing persons with unique abilities and operating child care facilities. Insurance premiums tax changes allow insurers to take credits against their tax liability for policyholder discounts.  

 

Documentary stamp tax exemptions are introduced for certain notes and obligations and reduced for Home Equity Conversion Mortgages.  

 

Other provisions include increasing the Strong Families Tax Credit cap, amending criteria for eligible charitable organizations, and granting extensions for tax filings during disasters. Additionally, distributions from sales and use tax for thoroughbred breeding and racing become permanent, and the minimum vote threshold for the Local Option Food and Beverage tax referendum is adjusted.  

Effective date: July 1, 2024