Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday vetoed close to $143 million in local projects as he signed the $70 billion state budget into law.
Scott’s vetos, which included about $98 million in general revenue and another $44 million in trust fund spending, are expected to hit hard local projects in Orlando and Orange County, and negatively impact the lives of its residents.
Among the projects for which Scott turned down funding are:
- LYNX —————- $1.2 million
- Renaissance of the Parramore Neighborhood in Downtown Orlando–$0.9 million
- Pine Hills Neighborhood Redevelopment Project——————$2.0 million
- Dr. J.B. Callahan Neighborhood Center in Parramore————-$1.0 million
- West Orange County Economic Development Business Center—-$1.0 million
- UCF Small Business Incubator———————————–$1.0 million
- Payment to Expressway Authorities —————————–$12.3 million
Scott, who signed the bill at an elementary school near Jacksonville said the budget should be known as an education budget because of a $1 billion school funding increase.
But Rep. Charles Chestnut (D-Gainesville), the Democratic Ranking Member on the House Appropriations Committee, said the budget is an assault on Florida’s middle class.
“The Republican-crafted budget signed by Governor Scott today is an assault on Florida’s middle class with deep cuts to health care and higher education,” Chestnut said. “The education portion of the budget is $2.1 billion less than what the Legislature put toward public schools only five years ago, and it fails to fully restore the massive cuts to our schools that the Republican leadership approved only a year ago.”
