Gov. Ron DeSantis is supporting a plan that boots the University of South Florida from its Sarasota-Manatee campus and shifts every building, dorm and facility to New College of Florida, which would mark a dramatic reshaping of Sarasota’s higher education landscape.

The measure, pitched as part of the Governor’s 2026-27 budget proposal, would create a new section of Florida law directing the two institutions to shift all real property, buildings, leaseholds and related liabilities associated with the Sarasota-Manatee campus from USF to New College.

The conforming bill specifies that no students, employees, fund balances, research contracts or grants would be part of the transfer, which applies only to real estate, fixed capital facilities, certain furnishings and any outstanding debts tied to those facilities. It would also guarantee that current USF Sarasota-Manatee students can continue finishing their degrees for up to four more years.

If approved, New College would be required to assume full legal and financial liability for the campus’s outstanding facility debt no later than Oct. 30, 2026. Until that assumption is complete, New College would make monthly payments of $166,617 to USF to cover the debt service. Failure by New College to make those payments would void the transfer and return the facilities to USF.

The real property transfer would need to be completed by July 1, 2026, with specific assets and liabilities identified in a joint agreement approved by both schools’ Boards of Trustees and submitted to the Board of Governors.

The bill includes guiding principles for determining what moves to New College and what remains with USF. Permanently affixed buildings and general classroom furnishings would transfer, while movable equipment, intellectual property, computers assigned to USF personnel, fund balances and items of historical significance to USF would remain with USF.

The bill also requires that existing residential contracts on the Sarasota-Manatee campus be honored by New College through at least Aug. 15, 2027. If the two universities disagree on any aspect of the transfer, the Board of Governors must resolve outstanding issues by Sept. 30, 2026.

The measure includes teach-out protections for USF students who enrolled before the bill takes effect. Those students must receive priority access to classroom and support space in the transferred facilities for up to four academic years to allow them to complete their degrees locally. New College would be required to make that space available to USF free of charge. USF would also be barred from assigning newly admitted students to the Sarasota-Manatee campus as their home campus going forward.

The bill provides civil immunity to both institutions, and their Trustees and employees, for actions taken to comply with the act.

Representatives from New College of Florida and University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee did not immediately return requests for comment.

Gov. Ron DeSantis is looking to prioritize road construction projects and beef up infrastructure in his 2026-27 budget proposal.

DeSantis is calling for $15.4 billion for the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) in addition to $14.3 billion for the State Transportation Work Program, which handles construction and maintenance of Florida’s roads, bridges, rails, seaports and other public transportation systems.

Speaking at a budget press conference in Orlando, DeSantis said his proposal provides “major support for infrastructure and transportation.”

“Over $14 billion for our state work program — that more than funds everything we need to do,” DeSantis said as he unveiled a $117 billion proposed spending plan ahead of the upcoming Legislative Session.

The fully released budget plan gives more detail on how DeSantis wants to carry out his priorities.

The Governor wants to allocate $4.9 billion for highway construction and maintenance. That entails constructing 181 new lane miles, $1.4 billion for resurfacing 2,622 lane miles, about $873 million for repairing 38 bridges and replacing 21 others. In addition, DeSantis wants to allocate about $204 million for community trail projects.

DeSantis is also pushing for investments to be made at the state’s airports and seaports.

Under DeSantis’ plan, aviation improvements would get nearly $389 million and seaports could receive nearly $156 million for infrastructure upgrades.

“I don’t think you’re going to find another state that’s doing more meaningful things on transportation” and other issues while also maintaining a “stable budget,” DeSantis said at his budget press conference.

The state’s growing space industry would also benefit from DeSantis’ budget proposal which allocates $93 million through the FDOT Spaceport Improvement Program and $10 million for the Aerospace Investment Fund to help recruit companies to the state.

“As Florida’s space industry continues to reach new heights, infrastructure needs along the Space Coast will continue to be a priority, which is why the budget includes $5 million in startup funding to Space Florida to work alongside state agencies to establish additional wastewater capacity for Florida’s commercial launch providers,” DeSantis’ budget proposal added.

“These proposed investments are in addition to the nearly $700 million in funding through the FDOT Work Program to improve community infrastructure in Brevard, Indian River, and Volusia counties.”