With a proposed Florida budget of $115.6 billion, which would leave $14.6 billion in reserves, Gov. Ron DeSantis said fiscal responsibility will be the theme for his 2025-26 spending plan, and his budget’s name this year reflects that.

The “Focus on Fiscal Responsibility” budget represents a “significant’ reduction” over last year’s budget, DeSantis said.

“Florida’s steadfast commitment to fiscal conservatism is why we are in such good financial shape,” DeSantis said in a news release Monday. “Florida has experienced historic success by keeping government spending low while balancing significant investments in meaningful initiatives. These include expanding workforce education for high-demand jobs, providing family-first tax relief, ensuring that Florida’s students can access a quality education that fits their needs, expanding infrastructure to reduce congestion and restoring the Everglades.

“It is proof positive that when you act responsibly with taxpayers’ money, success will follow. I look forward to accomplishing even more for this state in the coming year on this firm financial footing.”

DeSantis said there have been 2.7 million new businesses launched in the state since 2019, the year he moved into the Governor’s Mansion. He added that under his administration, fiscal conservatism has helped pay down $1.7 billion in tax-supported debt while providing $2.2 billion in tax relief, all while reducing the size of government in the state.

The Legislative Session gets underway in Tallahassee March 4, during which lawmakers will craft and approve the state budget, typically with the Governor’s proposal as a guide post. DeSantis said he has his eye on continuing tax relief for Floridians by repealing the state’s business rent tax; creating a new venture capital tax credit program to spur investments in research, innovation, science and engineering; and continuing a plethora of other programs, such as back-to-school and disaster preparedness sales tax holidays.

His “Focus on Fiscal Responsibility” budget will also prioritize “home hardening programs to continue efforts to lower property insurance premiums for Floridians and help reduce the costly impacts of hurricane damage to homes across the state.”

DeSantis also pointed out he’ll emphasize primary education in kindergarten through 12th grade, as well as higher education.

While DeSantis is committed to financial restraint, he does call for expansion of services, such as disaster response and “investing in a healthier Florida.”

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Gov. Ron DeSantis predicted efforts to put marijuana legislation back on the ballot won’t pass muster in court.

Weeks after Smart & Safe Florida launched a fresh effort to put a legalization measure on the 2026 ballot, DeSantis said he remains opposed to the new proposal, just as he opposed one that failed to pass in 2024.

“There’s a lot of different perspectives on marijuana. It should not be in our constitution,” he said at a news conference on Monday. “If you feel strongly about it, you have elections for the Legislature. Go back candidates that you believe will be able to deliver what your vision is on that.”

He asserted the ballot language for the new proposal may not even be cleared by the Florida Supreme Court.

“There’s all kinds of things going on in here,” he said. “I think it’s going to have big-time trouble getting through the Florida Supreme Court. Honestly, as written, I don’t think it will even be on the ballot.”

Of note, the makeup of the Florida Supreme Court has not changed since justices in April approved an “Adult Use of Marijuana” measure for the ballot. That measure saw about 56% support from voters but failed to reach the 60% threshold needed for the amendment to be enshrined in the Florida Constitution.

While DeSantis did not detail why he thinks the court will reject the new proposal, which includes a prohibition on smoking marijuana in public places, he raised some of the concerns he hammered during the 2024 campaign.

Most notably, he said the measure still fails to explicitly allow homegrown marijuana, which would effectively leave that ability to licensed cultivators, similar to Florida’s existing medical marijuana program.

“What they say is they don’t give you that right. They say, well, the Legislature’s allowed to, but guess what’ll happen if this passes?” DeSantis said. “Do you think they’re going to be in favor of you growing your own or against? Of course, they’re going to lobby against, and they have a lot of money to be able to try to influence the legislature as a result of that.”

Smart & Safe Florida declined to comment on DeSantis’ latest comments. The campaign, which was funded primarily by Trulieve, has never opposed homegrown marijuana cultivation. During last year’s campaign, officials stressed lawmakers could legalize homegrown medical marijuana under current law.

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