Florida Budget Deal Funds Trimmed State Guard at $8 Million After House Reversal

Florida's House and Senate negotiators agreed Friday to fund a scaled-back version of Gov. Ron DeSantis' Florida State Guard at roughly $8 million — a fraction of what the Senate sought but a reversal for the House, which had pushed to zero out the force entirely.

The deal commits $3.8 million for 32 positions supporting State Guard operations, $3.6 million for operating expenses and an additional $601,378 tied to increased State Guard workload. Struck as top appropriators worked to finalize the state budget before a late-May deadline, the agreement settles — at least for this budget cycle — a months-long standoff over a military force critics have questioned as a drain on public money.

The compromise lands well below the Senate's original ask. Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Ed Hooper had pushed for a package totaling nearly $22 million, including $15.3 million for air mission expenses, $3.2 million for crisis response and special missions, $1.7 million for maritime operations and $1.6 million in base operating funds. The House countered with nothing.

Hooper telegraphed the middle ground last week. "I think it won't be $33.9 (million) and it won't be zero," he said.

Questions about whether the Florida State Guard wastes taxpayer money have shadowed the force since DeSantis resurrected it in 2022, according to public records and published investigations. Neither chamber addressed those concerns publicly before reaching the agreement.

A separate sticking point also moved Friday. The House dropped its earlier $40 million offer to maintain Camp Blanding Joint Training Center's Level 2 status to $10 million, while the Senate has now proposed eliminating that funding altogether.

Legislative leaders say they expect to finish the full budget before the end of May. A memo from House Speaker Daniel Perez directed House Budget Chair Lawrence McClure and Hooper to begin talks at 8 a.m. Tuesday and continue "until completion." If a budget reaches lawmakers' desks Tuesday, a constitutionally required 72-hour cooling-off period would set up a House floor vote Friday, May 29, with the Senate to follow before Sine Die — leaving a month before the July 1 start of the new fiscal year. Last year's budget did not pass until June 16.

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