SARASOTA- The City of Sarasota getting $10 million from the state for storm resiliency. The money will go to enhance water quality and prevent erosion on the Sarasota Bayfront. The money will go towar
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The Senate also unanimously passed the bill Wednesday, meaning it is ready to go to DeSantis.
Money for affordable housing
More controversially, the House on Thursday voted 78-38 to approve a measure (SB 2512) that would divvy up more than $400 million in documentary-stamp tax dollars that in the past have been targeted toward what is known as the Sadowski Trust Fund for affordable housing.
The bill would direct $200 million in documentary-stamp tax money to affordable housing, with $111.7 million going to sea-level rise efforts and $111.7 million going to sewage treatment projects, Senate sponsor Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, said Wednesday.
House Democrats objected to paying for other programs with money that could go to affordable housing. The Sadowski Trust Fund has been an annual target of lawmakers who divert or “sweep” the money to be used for other expenses.
Tens of millions of dollars a year would go to combat the effects of rising sea levels under bills passed Thursday by the Florida House and headed to Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The House voted 118-0 to approve a measure (SB 1954) that calls for spending up to $100 million a year on projects to address flooding and sea-level rise and creating a grant program for local governments.
The “resiliency” issue has particularly been a priority of DeSantis and House Speaker Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor. The bill calls for setting up a multi-year statewide flooding and sea level resilience plan that the Department of Environmental Protection would update annually.