Everglades restoration

The money was included in a 2023 budget unveiled Monday.

House and Senate negotiators finished reaching agreement Thursday, though a missed deadline will force the legislative session to extend until Monday for the votes.

The money will be used for restoration projects that have dragged on for years, including building a reservoir and undoing damage from old bridges built in the Everglades.

It's the latest attempt by lawmakers sympathetic — or beholden — to the sugar industry to give it and the agricultural industry the key to the Everglades’ huge spigot by guaranteeing “existing legal users” continue to receive a huge amount of the water.

Friends of the Everglades Executive Director Eve Samples says the measure boils down to "manipulation of the new Lake Okeechobee plan."

WMFE environmental reporter Amy Green discusses the link between the Everglades and struggling manatees.

The money will be used to hasten efforts to undo the damage the Everglades suffered in the early 1900s.

Nearly $1 billion in the governor’s budget is earmarked for the Florida environment, including water quality improvements, the Everglades restoration, and red tide.

Gov. Ron DeSantis touched on a variety of topics, including education, water quality improvements, and proposed bonuses for law enforcement officers, during his State of the State address.

"This is a huge, huge budget. This is a huge deal," DeSantis said of his proposal, which also includes pay raises and bonuses for teachers and law enforcement. It would need to be approved by the Florida Legislature.

Gov. Ron DeSantis will ask legislators to consider $960 million in funds for the 2022-23 fiscal year to support resiliency efforts across the state.

They include a requirement for out-of-state online retailers to collect sales taxes on purchases made by Floridians, and surveys to assess the “intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity” at state colleges and universities.