DeSantis OKs over $200 million for Manatee County, vetoes 4 projects. Here’s the list
Over $200 million in tax dollars will help pay for roads, school programs, the closure of Piney Point and more, as part of Florida’s 2023-24 state budget.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the $116.5 billion budget Thursday, paving the way for over a dozen projects in the Bradenton area. However, DeSantis also axed funding that lawmakers approved for four local projects.
“Through this year’s budget, we have cemented an economic framework which supports Florida’s families, business owners and students in the pursuit of a prosperous future,” DeSantis said in a statement.
Key projects set to receive state funding include $85 million to support closing Piney Point, $9 million to support State College of Florida’s expansion into Parrish and $8 million to expand Moccasin Wallow Road in Parrish.
But not everything that the Florida Legislature chose to include in the budget made the cut. According to a veto list, over $22 million in projects were cut from the state budget.
Using his authority as governor, DeSantis did not approve $20 million for the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee’s nursing STEM facility, $1.4 million for the city of Bradenton’s Public Safety Operations Center and $1.1 million for enhancements to Manatee County Area Transit’s Route 99 from Bradenton to Sarasota.
DeSantis vetoed a total of nearly $511 million from the budget, the governor’s office said in a Thursday afternoon press release.
See the full list for Manatee County below:
Funded Manatee County projects
- Piney Point — $85 million
School District of Manatee workforce education programs — $10.1 million
- SCF, Manatee-Sarasota – Parrish Center Phase I — $9 million
Manatee County - Moccasin Wallow Road Expansion Segment 3 — $8 million
- Manatee County - 44th Avenue East Connection — $4 million
- Manatee County - 51st Street West Extension — $2.5 million
- Early learning coalition — $14.3 million
- Manatee VPK — $7.6 million
- Fort Hamer Bridge Design and Permitting — $3 million
- Fort Hamer Road 4-lane design — $2.5 million
- Parrish Fire District Station #2 and Secondary Station — $2 million
Longboat Key Asbestos Cement Water Main Replacement - Country Club Shores Phases 1&2 — $1,541,985
City of Anna Maria Reimagining Pine Avenue - Phase 2 — $1,410,000
City of Bradenton - 9th Street Park — $1 million
- Guy Harvey Academy of Arts and Science in School District of Manatee County — $1 million
- School District of Manatee licensed practical nursing program — $602,071
- Student Success in Career and Technical Education Incentive Fund — $118,866
- 2+2 Student Success Incentive Fund to support students completing critical college credit courses (SCF Sarasota-Manatee) — $332,007
- Work Florida Student Success Incentive Fund (SCF Sarasota-Manatee) — $258,436
- Operating funds and approved baccalaureate programs at SCF Sarasota-Manatee — $33,434,210
- State College CDL Consortium - State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota — $3,850,000
- University of South Florida, Sarasota/Manatee — $19,031,911
- Child protective investigation operations - Manatee County Sheriff’s Office — $1,259,164
- NAMI Sarasota and Manatee - Family Peer Navigation — $250,000
- Rapid DNA Technology pilot program - Manatee County Sheriff’s Office — $250,000
- Jewish Federation Sarasota-Manatee Holocaust Education Center — $500,000
- Manatee County Clerk of Court - Child Support Services — $4,419,004
- Bradenton Sanitary Sewer Lift Station Emergency Generators — $500,000
- Bradenton Sanitary Sewer Lining Program for Infiltration/Inflow Reduction — $375,000
- Manatee County Rural Health Services — $82,283
- $5,000 salary raise for Florida Highway Patrol officers — undisclosed total cost
- Total: $218,214,937
Vetoed Manatee County projects
- USF Sarasota-Manatee STEM nursing facility — $20 million
- Bradenton storm sewer outfall tide check valves — $250,000
- Manatee County Area Transit – Route 99 Operation Enhancements — $1.1 million
- City of Bradenton – Public Safety Operations Center — $1.4 million
- Total: $22,750,000
This story was originally published June 15, 2023 at 5:45 PM.
