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June 25, 2019On Friday, June 21, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a record $90.9 billion budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1. Before signing the spending plan passed by legislators in May, the governor used his line-item veto power to cut more than $131 million in proposed spending.
The budget includes funding for the following FCCB priorities:
Pregnancy Support Services - $4 million is allocated to the Florida Pregnancy Care Network to provide services such as counseling, referrals, material support, training, and pregnancy and childbirth education to pregnant mothers as they prepare to parent or place their babies for adoption. FCCB has been supportive of the program since its inception in 2005, and Catholic Days participants advocated for the inclusion of the program in Florida statutes in 2018.
Affordable Housing Trust Fund - $200 million is appropriated to affordable housing programs. Over half, $115 million, is going toward affordable housing in the Panhandle areas affected by Hurricane Michael. The total allocation is $77 million higher than last year. $125 million of available housing funds was swept to general revenue for other projects. The FCCB has long supported full funding of housing trust funds to assist vulnerable populations with housing needs.
Protection of Natural Resources - The budget includes $682 million towards environmental needs, such as Everglades restoration and protection of freshwater springs. Support for environmental spending was a 2019 Catholic Days at the Capitol issue.
Bills that were engaged by the FCCB during the legislative session and signed into to law by Gov. DeSantis include:
Parental Empowerment in Education
HB 7075 (Education, Sullivan) / SB 7070 (Education)
This measure creates the Family Empowerment Scholarship Program, a state-funded program for students from lower-income families to attend eligible non-public schools that meet their educational needs. It also reduces the current 12,974 student waitlist for the Florida Tax Credit (FTC) Scholarship Program. The bill contains a provision being watched closely by the FCCB that establishes a new methodology to calculate the value of new and existing scholarships, decreasing the value of scholarships for students above sixth grade. The proposal was a 2019 Catholic Days at the Capitol issue.
State-Level Immigration Enforcement
HB 527 (Byrd) / SB 168 (Gruters)
The FCCB opposed this bill that mandates local jurisdictions comply with all requests made by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hold individuals - even those who have not been convicted of a crime - beyond the time they would otherwise be released from a law enforcement agency.
