Tallahassee, Fla. — Today, Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried, an independently elected member of the Florida Cabinet, released the following statement on the Florida Legislature’s passage of a $112 billion state budget for Fiscal Year 2022-2023.
“Thanks to COVID relief funding provided by President Biden and Democrats in DC, the Florida Legislature just passed the largest budget in our state’s history. Instead of using this funding to help everyday Floridians as it was intended, Governor DeSantis and Republicans in the legislature prioritized culture wars and spent billions of taxpayer dollars to pay for more private jets for the Governor, giveaways to corporations, a ridiculous election police force and State Guard, and a gas tax break that goes into effect right before the gubernatorial election in October instead of now when we need it most. Somehow, Florida Republicans managed to spend $112 billion and barely scratch the surface when it comes to addressing the issues that Floridians care about most. At a time when we’re in desperate need of help with affordable housing, health care, property insurance, gas prices and cost of living, this budget is a slap in the face to our hardworking taxpayers.”
