Today, after two months of delay, the Florida Legislature finally passed the 2026-2027 state budget. Below is Representative Dr. Anna V. Eskamani’s statement:
I voted yes on the budget because we have several local projects that will benefit from this budget and the dollars allocated towards affordable housing projects are incredibly important too. However, there are many aspects of this budget that I do not support and other elements that do not meet the moment. For example, increasing the BSA by $85 is not enough to support our public schools or compensate our educators. There is a slight increase for veteran teacher pay, but not anywhere near enough. The imbalance between compensation for State Attorneys versus Public Defenders is bad for our judicial system, the lack of preeminence funding hurts universities, and there is no pay increase for state workers. At the same time, I understand that state economists have stressed to us the potential of an economic downturn, and the importance of being prepared for that. With that said, Florida families are hurting right now, and we need to continue pushing for more relief.
Representative Dr. Eskamani voted no on the annual tax package. Here is her statement:
I first want to applaud and thank our Ways & Means Committee staff for their partnership over these eight years. Unfortunately, this final tax package negotiated with the Senate does not include direct relief for everyday working families to address the affordability issues we are facing with housing, energy, and groceries. It’s overwhelmingly a combination of random tax breaks for large corporations. It also includes a tax break for firearms. For these reasons and more, I voted no.
She also voted no on a measure to transfer USF’s Manatee County campus to New College of Florida.
I will not consent to the continued erosion of higher education in our state, which this is another example of. We should not be expanding what has become a failed right-wing experimental takeover of New College of Florida. I voted no.