Last Friday, March 13, 2020, was the scheduled final day of the 2020 Legislative Session.  Referred to as "Sine Die," Florida has a deep-rooted tradition in signifying the adjournment of both chambers.  (The Latin term, "Sine Die" literally translated into English, "without day" which means "without assigning a day for a further meeting or hearing.") 

Generally, the last item to be approved by the Legislature prior to Sine Die is the state budget for the upcoming fiscal year.  With the advent of the Coronavirus outbreak and the need to make sure adequate funds were set aside to respond and recover the Legislative Session was extended until Thursday, March 19th.

Both Chambers have been hard at work until the very end, finalizing the crucial budget and policy decisions to not only better serve Floridians but ensure we are prepared and protected among the uncertainty of the spread of COVID-19 in our state. 

State Budget Approved

The role of a legislator may vary, but the one constitutional responsibility of members is to pass a balanced budget each year.

Over the past weekend, we reached an agreement on the state budget for the 2020-2021 fiscal year.  Once the budget was finalized, it was printed and provided to each Member of the House and Senate for review for 72 hours as required by law.  After this period, the budget headed to both Chambers for a final vote.

The Senate and the House of Representatives convened in Tallahassee on Thursday at 12:00 p.m. to officially approve our state budget.  It was eerily quiet at the Capitol as the usual throng of visitors stayed away.  The customary Sine Die ceremonies were dispensed with and Members of the Legislature left for their home Districts immediately after the vote.  A number of members were unable to attend due to concerns with COVID-19 and those of us who were able to participate made sure to keep the required “social distance”.   Questions and debate on the budget were serious and thoughtful and we adjourned Sine Die at 1:49 PM.

The total budget for the upcoming fiscal year totals $93.2 billion, including $3.9 billion in reserves.

Both Chambers' budget chairs, Rep. Travis Cummings and Sen. Rob Bradley, highlighted the budget particulars and emphasized the $3.9 Billion in reserves in the event of any revenue downturn.

Sen. Bradley advised the Members that any need to tap into these reserves may be done by the Governor and the Joint Legislative Budget Commission without reconvening the full legislature. Bradley stated, "Florida is in a solid, secure financial state to pay our bills and handle any other situation. We are twice as healthy as we were when dealing with the 'great recession' in 2008."

Elaborating at a post-session press gaggle, Senate President Bill Galvano said he expected the state's revenue estimating group (EDR) to meet monthly, rather than quarterly, and if necessary the Legislature would come back if there is a "significant-enough revenue shortfall."

State Senate Budget Highlights 

COVID-19

• The budget contains $4 billion in reserves that may be accessed to fund necessary actions taken by Governor DeSantis through Executive Orders issued due to COVID-19.
• It also includes $52.5 million in combined state and federal dollars to purchase necessities related to COVID-19.

Healthcare

• This year’s budget provides $39.4 billion for Health and Human Services. 
• Highlights include full funding for KidCare, additional funding for the Graduate Medical Education Program and for Florida’s nursing homes. 
• Funding for the Agency for Persons with Disabilities was increased so as to reduce the waiting list for services without reducing services to those currently receiving services.
• Significant funding was also provided to the Dept. of Elder Affairs for its Public Guardian Program.

Visit Florida

• Tourism is a critical sector of Florida’s economy and Visit Florida has been a crucial resource in helping to draw a record number of tourists to our state each year.
• As we face a likely immediate downturn in tourism due to COVID-19, the Florida Senate has not only extended this very successful program by three years but has budgeted $50 million in recurring funds.

Florida Forever

This budget maintains the Senate’s priority of funding for Florida Forever. $100 million is included for funding of the Florida Forever program which will help us to enjoy all that Florida has to offer for generations to come.

Water Quality Improvements and Everglades Restoration

• The Senate continues its commitment to funding to protect and restore our unique environment in Florida.
• The budget includes over $318 million dollars to fund Everglades restoration through the Department of Environmental Protection, nearly $237 million in water quality improvements and $50 million for Springs restoration.  By dedicating over $318.6 million to Everglades’ restoration, the Florida Senate remains engaged in the preservation of our national treasure and one of the most unique and important wetlands preserves in the world.
• $50 million is dedicated to the Everglades Agricultural Area Reservoir to put an end to discharges from Lake Okeechobee that devastate our communities with toxic blue-green algae.
• $47 million is funded for Northern Everglades and Estuary Protection to bring much-needed water restoration north of Lake Okeechobee.

K-12 Education​

•  This year, the Florida Senate passed major, comprehensive K-12 education legislation that ensures all students in Florida have access to a world-class education by supporting our public school's teachers and giving parents the opportunity to choose the best education for their child.
• The Florida Senate provided $500 million to increase teacher salaries.
• 2020 will be known as “The Year of the Teacher.” Recognizing that Florida’s schools would not be what they are without the dedicated work of our teachers.
• Florida Education Finance Program  – $776 million
  • This is a 3.55% increase in total funds.
  •  This provides a 2.40% increase in funding per student by $184.
  • Funding increased from $7,656 to $7,840 per student.
• Base Student Allocation (BSA)  –  $40 increase
• Safe Schools Allocation  – $180 million
  • This is funding for school safety officers.
• Mental Health Assistance Allocation – $100 million
  • A $25 million increase to help schools address youth mental health issues.
• School Hardening Grants  –  $42 million GR
  • To fund a program for capital purchases for school security.
• Workforce Development  –  $372.3 million
  • This is allocated for career and technical education and adult education.

 Higher Education

• This year, the legislature provided $18.7 million for capital projects for the Florida College System and $112.7 million for the State University System, including significant funding for FGCU.
• We also continue to make it easier for students to take advantage of the Bright Futures scholarship program by allowing students more flexibility with enrolling at our colleges and universities.
• We have also encouraged our students to transfer between our colleges and universities by increasing the award amounts from 75 percent to 100 percent of tuition and fees for a Florida Medallion Scholar that is enrolled in an associate degree program at a Florida College System institution, allowing students to save money while also guaranteeing they have the opportunity to enroll in one of our renowned state universities.
• This year’s budget also appropriated $24 million towards supporting the “Universities of Distinction”  initiative that allows state universities to focus on one core competency that can achieve excellence at the national and state level. 

Criminal Justice

• On top of the 3% pay increase for all state employees, corrections officers and correctional probation officers will receive an additional pay increase of up to $2,500 depending on their years of service.
• Child protective investigators will receive a 10% pay increase.
• This budget includes funds that will help our correctional officers and prisons stay safer by converting 12-hour work shifts within prisons to 8.5-hour shifts. This will help reduce fatigue and stress on correctional officers.

Florida Opioid Response

• The Florida Senate continues our commitment to taking the opioid crisis head-on by providing $81.8 million for the State Opioid Response Grant that will ensure or state continues to address the opioid crisis and reduce opioid-related deaths.

Affordable Housing

• Rising housing costs in Florida’s metropolitan areas have reinforced the need for affordable housing for Floridians and securing funds has been a high priority for the Florida Senate.
• This year, we successfully secured 100% of the Sadowski Affordable Housing Trust Fund, at $370 million, to be used for affordable housing projects across the state.

Voting Security & Protections

• Voting is a fundamental right for every U.S. citizen and protecting the integrity of Florida’s elections is a vital function of Florida’s government.
• In support of this mission, this budget funds $11.4 million to the Department of State for election cybersecurity training, infrastructure and security improvements.

Local Funding Requests

During my time in Tallahassee during session, I spearheaded a series of funding requests for local projects and programs. Prior to the Governor's review, these are the following projects we have incorporated into the state budget to help our district: 

Naples Bay - Red Tide Septic Tank Mitigation Program 

• With a $1.1 million budget to start phase two, the City of Naples and Collier County will participate in a joint partnership to convert 930 failing septic tanks to a centralized sanitary sewer system.
• This will enhance our stormwater system and improve water quality to reduce nutrient loading in the sensitive impaired water of Naples Bay. 
• Will eliminate 930 aging septic tanks within the US 41/ Goodlette Road corridor located within unincorporated Collier County but within the potable water and sanitary sewer service areas of the City of Naples Utilities.  

Collier County - Goodland Drive Rehabilitation Project   

• $1 million has been dedicated to the reconstruction of the existing two-lane rural roadway and multi-use path. 
• The project's purpose is to raise roadway profiles to alleviate flooding during extreme tides and storm events and restore historical tidal exchanges between the east and west mangrove stands by adding cross drainage.

Marco Island - Regional Maritime, Fire, EMS Training & Operations Facility

• With $650,000 in funding, Marco Island will construct a category 5 hardened facility to serve as a training and operations facility for regional emergency response.
• This training facility will focus on emergency response to the southwest region and the southwest Gulf of Mexico. 
• This facility will also incorporate the latest communications technology and focus on modern firefighter cancer research.
• Operations through this facility will protect residents, the region’s more than 1 million Florida visitors, corporate events, residents, as well as the fragile environment of waterways in Southwest Florida.

Collier County - Golden Gate City Outfall Restoration Project

• The Golden Gate City Stormwater System is composed of 103 miles of swale collecting runoff that feeds into 780 drainage structures with 135 outfalls draining into a ten-mile network of canals.
• With a $100,000 budget, phase 1 of this project will perform a hydrographic survey to determine the depth of silt accumulation in the canal network for Golden Gate City.
• This research will determine the cost to restore the canals to their original bottom elevation. 
• This is a critical step of a large-scale infrastructure project including the rehabilitation of aging stormwater, water and sewer assets, as well as transportation and mobility enhancements. 

Collier County - Cocohatchee River Critical Dredge Project

• This $100,000  project removes and disposes sediment accumulation from the Cocohatchee River
• Currently, the silt in the river has created a significant impediment to stormwater conveyance, specifically east and west of the US 41 Cocohatchee River bridge. 
• This waterway receives regional stormwater flows from areas that were significantly impacted by flooding in 2017, pre and post-Hurricane Irma.
• Restoration is critical to support the restoration of the Stormwater System, which will prevent potential flooding and property damage.

Immokalee - Fire Control District Station #30 Construction/Replacement

• The requested $900,000 in funding will be allocated to construct and provide interior finishes for a new fire station for the Immokalee Fire Control District (district). 
• The new facility will provide a healthy, safe and secure environment from which District personnel can provide emergency services and maintain continuity of operations.

City of LaBelle - Lift Station & Emergency Generators

• Following Hurricane Irma, all of the 23 LaBelle lift stations serving City Hall lost power.
• With $90,000 in allocations, permanent generators may be installed to power five critical lift stations during emergencies, including:
  • LaBelle Civic Center; 
  • LaBelle City Hall; and
  • The Hendry County Jail.  

Hendry County - Connecting Airglades Airport & Clewiston Utilities 

• The $1 million will go towards increased wastewater capacity to the Airglades Airport Industrial Park, located west of Clewiston in Hendry County.
• This investment is critical in order to receive additional tenants at Airglades and help boost economic development opportunities at Airglades and the surrounding area in Hendry County. 

City of Bonita Springs - IBE/Quinn/Downs/Dean Street Drainage Project

• The Imperial Bonita Estates (IBE)/Quinn/Downs/Dean Street Drainage Project is located in a neighborhood that frequently floods following intense rain events.
• Hurricane Irma left IBE with 4 feet of standing water for over a month.
• A recent study identified a series of backflow preventers, storm sewers to channel water through various points in the neighborhood, along with parcel acquisition for stormwater retention ponds.
• With $750,000 in funding, the project will implement the plans outlined in the city’s analysis. 

David Lawrence Center Wraparound Collier Program

• Since 2012, The David Lawrence Center (DLC) Wraparound Collier Program (WRAPE) has provided specialty mental health services to hundreds of high-risk, uninsured children and adolescents in Collier County.
• $279,112 has been requested in funding for WRAPE.
• DLC’s services include mental health assessment, diagnosis, intervention, treatment and case management services for children and adolescents with either a mental health diagnosis or co-occurring mental health and substance use diagnoses. 

Naples Senior Center at Jewish Family and Community Services of Southwest Florida

• The Naples Senior Center at Jewish Family and Community Services of Southwest Florida manages the only dementia-respite support program in Collier and Southern Lee Counties.
• Recognized as a cutting edge, innovative program, the program provides the highest standard of care to clients with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD). 
•  The program is designed for seniors who have been diagnosed with early to mid-stage ADRD.
• With $75,000 in funding, the program can continue to provide socialization and wellness with a holistic approach to everyday living and challenges using activities that focus on human connection.   

Collier County - Paradise Coast Trail Study

• The proposed Paradise Coast Trail (PCT) is a 70-mile, multi-use pathway that will provide a trail to walk, run, and bike safely for commuting and recreation. 
• With a budget of $250,000, the PCT will provide the community with an avenue to enrich physical and mental wellbeing in a safe outdoor environment while reducing its carbon footprint. 
• This funding also helps with completing a feasibility study.

Collier County - Lighthouse for the Blind  

• The Lighthouse of Collier serves clients with blindness or vision loss, who want to maintain independence in their homes by utilizing a Certified Vision Rehabilitation Therapist (CVRT) or Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI) or Occupational Therapist (OT) with Low Vision Rehabilitation certification.
• With a requested $85,000 budget, the funding will provide 1:1 instruction in ADL’s (Activities of Daily Living) to enable clients to function independently. 

Collier Community Abstinence Program 

• Collier Community Abstinence Program workbooks and resources are used to address and fulfill  Mental and Emotional Health Education requirements. 
• These workbooks have previously been extensively piloted in Collier County schools with positive results over the past ten years.
• This $200,000 in funding will be used for the purchase of materials in order to promote and provide workbooks for teachers, parents, and students.

Stop Now and Plan (SNAP) for Child Welfare

• SNAP® (Stop Now And Plan) is a research model that teaches elementary school-aged children with disruptive behavior problems, and their parents, how to stop and think before they act and make better choices “in the moment.” 
• SNAP was developed in 1985 by the Child Development Institute and was designed by both neuroscientists, practitioners, and researchers.
• With $250,00 in funding, this program will work to prevent child abuse, prevent home removal and improve placement stability. 

Expansion of the Florida-Israel Business Accelerator (FIBA) into Southwest Florida

• The Florida-Israel Business Accelerator increases the business connections between the economies of Israel and Florida, creates job opportunities and generates awareness within the Israeli tech ecosystem.
• With $300,000 in funding,  FIBA’s presence will expand into Southwest Florida to bring additional US operations of Israeli businesses into the region.

Keiser University-Women's Lifespan Health Initiative

• With a $600,000 budget, the Keiser University Initiative focuses on medical services that are designed to meet the needs of women throughout their lifespan in four advanced practice nursing degrees:
  • Nursing (MS);
  • Family Nurse Practitioner (MS);
  • Women’ Health (MS); and
  • The Doctor of Nurse Practitioner (DNP) 
• The focus on women’s health in the master’s program will include specialized coursework and research opportunities in the DNP program.
•  Specialty areas include obstetrics and gynecology, infant mortality, mental health and gerontological issues.

Project to Cure Paralysis - Spinal Cord and Traumatic Brain

• The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis is the world's largest and most comprehensive spinal cord injury research program.
• With $750,000 in requested funding, they may work on developing new therapies to target and repair the central nervous system and the brain in order to restore functional recovery for those suffering from paralysis, traumatic brain injury, concussions and other neurological disorders such as MS and ALS. 
• The Miami Project has assembled an international multi-disciplinary team of over 200 doctors, scientists, therapists and support staff to conduct and perform carefully designed and controlled research and move promising therapies on to the clinical application in humans.            

Mental Health Assistance Allocation for Florida Virtual Schools (FLVS)

• This budget request would provide mental health assistance and funding of $625,000 to FLVS.
• Currently, FLVS does not receive any funding through the Mental Health Assistance Allocation in the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) despite being held to the same statutory requirements for providing students with access to mental health services. 
• This funding will implement a pilot program and provide students, aged 12 and older, with access to online mental health services for one year.  

The Matific K-5 Math Solution 

• The Matific K-5 Math Solution program services the neediest learners in Collier, Lee, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, and Okeechobee counties to better prepare them for futures in STEM. 
• With $400,000 in requested funds, the program can continue to help students develop math fluency and also focus on foundational problem solving for real-world maths challenges.
• The program also provides administrators and teachers with training to improve their knowledge and effectiveness in math instruction.

In the News

Naples Historical Society celebrates 125th anniversary of historic Palm Cottage

Humane Society Naples takes in 9 dogs from large-scale neglect case

‘Destiny of a Golden Age’: Senate says goodbye to Bill Galvano

As always, please do not hesitate to contact my office any time that I can be of assistance.
 
Sincerely,

Kathleen C. Passidomo

Senate Majority Leader
State Senator, District 28

Not paid for at taxpayer expense.

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