On first day of Florida session, Democrats say DeSantis, Republicans 'running train off the tracks'

Republican lawmakers showered Gov. Ron DeSantis with standing ovations as he outlined a state budget and policy proposals in a 2022 State of the State address during the ceremonial start Tuesday of a 60-day legislative session.

Standing before a joint session of the Florida House and Senate, DeSantis declared while pandemic policies in other states have sent people’s rights “to the graveyard” Florida has stood as solid as a rock for freedom.

“Those unprecedented policies have been as ineffective as they have been destructive. They are grounded more in blind adherence to Faucian declarations than they are in the constitutional traditions that are the foundation of free nations,” said DeSantis, while touting a $99.7 billion spending plan boosted by federal aid and a rebounding economy.

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His Democratic opponents in Tallahassee, however, said DeSantis' campaign-style rhetoric offers little for working Floridians, children and the environment. He's up for reelection in November and is already a leading contender in the GOP 2024 presidential primary.

While Republicans interrupted DeSantis at least 25 times by standing to applaud, Democrats, outnumbered in the House, Senate and Cabinet sat silently sat in the back of the chamber.

“The focus is on trying to create a stark contrast between the federal government and state government and they are leaving many Floridians behind. They are running the train off the tracks,” said Rep. Ramon Alexander, D-Tallahassee, the incoming House Democratic Leader for next year.

Tuesday, and in news events since DeSantis released his spending proposal in December, Democrats said once they cut through the smoke and mirrors of campaign rhetoric, they find an economic plan rigged to inflate corporate profits at the expense of everything else.

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"Corporate socialism" is how Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, described the combination of tax cuts and liability protection for corporations. Eskamani is among a band of Democrats, labor leaders, and environmentalists who argue the Legislature should put more of a focus on water quality and affordable housing, fixing a shortage of public-school teachers and a lack of childcare for workers.

Eskamani calculates the governor has cut taxes for corporations by more than $5 billion in the last three years and now proposes a plan to divert $6 billion to the state reserves, bringing the total amount of the so called “rainy day” fund to $15 billion.

Given the state’s backlog of unmet needs, including more than 20,000 residents on the Agency for Persons with Disabilities wait list for services, Eskamani said money for the reserve fund does not compute.

“With that kind of money, we could eliminate the entire APD waitlist. We could give every teacher raises, not bonuses. We could hire more officers to enforce environmental laws,” Eskamani said.

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Some of DeSantis’ longest applause lines Tuesday came when he touted his $23.9 billion education budget. It includes more money for teachers, security and pandemic response.

But DeSantis’ critics point out that while he does propose a record amount of per-student funding ($8,000), when adjusted for inflation the proposal is $485 less than what the state spent in 2010.

“Why do we cut general revenue when we’re not funding schools, we’re not funding healthcare, we’re not funding things at the levels that we should, but we’re giving away money,” said Rich Templin, policy director for the AFL-CIO, a coalition of 56 labor unions.

The House Appropriations Committee took up the DeSantis proposal Tuesday afternoon and Democrats came with a long list of questions. Alexander sits on the committee and says while budget numbers during a session are always a moving target, “clearly you can see the trends of their priorities.”

"One of the things I've learned in session is not to operate off assumptions, and (know) where your feet are," said Alexander, refusing to speculate about what will happen with the DeSantis budget proposal.

“But we have to change our methodology and our approach because trickledown economics does not work. We can’t keep cutting taxes for the riches of the rich and assume those resources are going to the people of Florida,” he added.

James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com. Follow on him Twitter: @CallTallahassee

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Democrats say Gov. Ron DeSantis fuels political ambitions with tax dollars