Lawmakers Agree On Raises, Private Jets, Affordable Housing, But Not The Budget

Tallahassee, FL – They agreed on new private jets, raises for state workers, money for nursing homes, and affordable housing. But lawmakers didn’t finalize the state’s budget, and the session ends soon. Raises For Most Despite not finalizing the budget, Florida’s lawmakers approved a 5.38 percent raise for all state employees. This will also bring the minimum wage for state workers up to $15 an hour, which does not affect the state’s set minimum wage. Along with those raises for state workers will come raises for nursing home staff, going up to $15 an hour, and $20-an-hour minimum salaries for state firefighters and correctional officers Strangely enough, lawmakers filed a bill earlier this year that could keep local governments from hiring contractors who pay their workers above the state’s minimum wage rate, which remains at $10. That bill has yet to get a full house vote. Jet Setters Lawmakers agreed to spend $31.3 million to buy a pair of Embraer Phenom business jets. The planes would be used by state officials for travel, but not by the governor. Governor Ron DeSantis currently uses a $15 million Cessna Citation jet that was purchased after he took office.  Before DeSantis took over the governor’s mansion, former-Governor Rick Scott had sold the state’s air fleet and instead used his own private jet for transportation. The other planes would be earmarked for use by people like the lieutenant governor, cabinet members, Supreme Court justices and legislative chairs. Affordable Housing Gets $200 Million Also agreed upon by lawmakers was a proposal to give the State Housing Initiative Partnership program a boost of $209.5 million. About $100 million of that budget will go towards making a “hometown heroes” program. The program, once established, would help police officers, firefighters, teachers and nurses as Florida’s housing prices continue to rise. DeSantis initially wanted to put around $355 million into housing and rental assistance efforts. Tick-Tock Tick-Tock It’s now pretty much certain lawmakers will not make Friday’s deadline to vote on the budget. The hope was to have a set plan in place by the end of the day on Tuesday, as state law requires lawmakers to wait 72 hours before discussing the budget. With that in mind, the 2022 legislative session will probably go into overtime. At this time, budget negotiations are expected to wrap up on Thursday (March 10), according to Senate President Wilton Simpson. That means a final vote on the budget will likely come on Monday (March 14). Lawmakers are expected to agree on a budget that will top $100 billion.