Governor Ron DeSantis revealed the annual state budget proposal on Wednesday, promising tax relief targeting families and a multi-billion dollar surplus to weather any future literal or financial storms.
DeSantis announced the nearly 115 billion dollar budget at the Tallassee news conference on Wednesday, but it is only a recommendation. The Legislature will decide the final budget during the annual session that begins next month. However, it should be noted the GOP-supermajority-controlled Florida legislature has generally followed DeSantis’s up until this point.
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While DeSantis and many other republicans have long predicted Biden’s presidency will result in a nationwide economic downturn, DeSantis is optimistic about how the Sunshine state will fare when and if that happens. According to the Orlando Sentinel, the Governor touted the billions in emergency funds set aside in his plan and the further billions of surplus as extra reserves that the budget doesn’t even touch.
“When you have $15.7 billion in reserves when you have $3.4 billion in your rainy day fund, you are prepared to be able to weather those types of storms. We are built to be able to withstand that.”
DeSantis’s press secretary Bryan Griffin retweeted the Governor’s announcement, praising it for these financially insulating measures.
.@GovRonDeSantis is working to shield Floridians from the Biden Administration's rampant inflation, disastrous economy, and naked power grabs.
This is possible thanks to Florida's record budget surplus and the governor's steady hand at the helm. https://t.co/VQZ2zFhLBx
— Bryan Griffin (@BryanDGriffin) February 1, 2023
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Apart from fiscal conservatism, DeSantis also advertised the numerous tax cuts built into his proposal, simply abolishing sales tax on multiple family products.
“We’re also doing permanent sales tax exclusions on all baby necessities, including cribs and strollers. It’s hard enough raising kids as it is. Now you get baby food, diapers, wipes, baby clothes, the whole shabang, including things like cribs and strollers which are very very expensive. So that is going to be permanently tax free in the state of Florida.”
DeSantis extended this policy to pet medication because “they’re part of our families too,” saying it will relieve many Floridians.
The Governor also announced a similar permanent sales tax ban policy for gas stoves. While on the surface, the policy seems bizarre; it comes on the heels of a recent statement by an agency commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission that “any option is on the table” to deal with the “hidden hazard” of gas stoves. DeSantis rejected the idea at the time and now is putting his money where his mouth is in an attempt to prevent the federal government from taking any action to block gas stoves.
“We just added, because I think it needs to be done, no tax permanently on gas stoves. They want your gas stove and we’re not going to let that happen, and we’re not even a state, the way Florida was built a lot wasn’t even connected to gas lines you got a lot of electric stuff, but it’s just the principle of, you know, this is ridiculous.”
The CPSC quickly walked back its statements, but DeSantis attributed this to the widespread blowback and not a genuine misunderstanding. He reaffirmed that “they want your gas stoves” and promised citizens would be able to buy them free of extra charge in Florida from now on.
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