TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A Florida House committee on Monday unanimously approved an extension of the state’s Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund, but with new restrictions on how Governor Ron DeSantis can utilize the $5 billion account. The move sets up a potential clash with the Florida Senate, which last week extended the fund without similar limitations.
The House bill, PCB TED 26-02, would limit the fund’s use to natural emergencies, preventing its application to initiatives like immigration enforcement – a practice DeSantis initiated under a 2023 emergency order that has been repeatedly extended. The restrictions come as the fund, created in 2022 to cover disaster costs not already budgeted, faces a Tuesday expiration date.
“We’re just putting some guardrails on the fund to assure some accountability and transparency,” said Representative Philip “Griff” Griffitts, R-Panama City Beach, who presented the bill. “That’s what we ask our people to do at the local level, we ought to do it here at the state level.”
The debate centers on DeSantis’s use of the fund to address issues beyond traditional natural disasters. Specifically, the governor has directed funds toward the state’s immigration enforcement efforts, including the establishment of a detention center in the Everglades, often referred to as “Alligator Alcatraz.” This allocation has drawn criticism and fueled calls for greater legislative oversight.
The House proposal also stipulates requirements for the deposit of federal reimbursements from state emergency expenditures into the general fund and adds more stringent reporting requirements. According to Griffitts, if further immigration-related expenses are deemed necessary, the governor can call a special legislative session to request additional funding. “We did a special session last year on immigration to appropriate $300 million,” he stated. “If we have another issue with immigration, which we know is an ongoing issue, the governor can call us back for a special session.”
The Senate, although, has taken a different approach. Senator Ed Hooper, the Senate appropriations chair, cautioned colleagues that extending the fund without addressing the concerns could exacerbate Republican infighting. The Senate’s version, S 7040, extends the fund through the end of next year without the House’s proposed restrictions.
House Bill 5503, the formal legislative vehicle for the House’s proposal, was filed on February 16th and referred to the House Calendar. A special order calendar date has been set for February 19th. Related bills, H 941 and H 7040, are also tracking similar themes of trust fund re-creation and emergency preparedness, but remain in earlier stages of the legislative process.
The differing approaches between the House and Senate signal a contentious budget negotiation ahead, with the future of the Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund – and the governor’s authority to utilize it – hanging in the balance.
