Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Florida TaxWatch President and CEO Dominic M. Calabro released the following statement in response to Governor Ron DeSantis announcing $510.9 million in vetoes for the Fiscal Year 2023-24 state budget. 

Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Florida TaxWatch released its review of the Broward County School District's Safety, Music & Art, Athletics, Renovations and Technology (SMART) program in its report Monitoring and Oversight of General Obligation Bonds to Improve Broward County Schools: SMART Program Quarterly Report Review for the Quarter Ended March 31, 2023.   

Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) released its 2023 Budget Turkey Watch Report, an independent review of the state’s $117 billion Fiscal Year 2023-24 budget. Since 1983, FTW has provided Floridians with­­ this additional level of oversight by identifying individual appropriations that circumvent a thoughtful and thorough budget process. The annual Budget Turkey Watch Report is based on the principle that, because funds appropriated by the legislature belong to Florida taxpayers, the process must be transparent and accountable, and every appropriation should receive proper deliberation and public debate. 

We cannot forget that the money appropriated by the Legislature belongs to the taxpayers of Florida. But what happens when appropriations circumvent the budget process or competitive project selection? Or when they bypass the opportunity for public scrutiny or competitive bidding?

Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) released Physician Shortages: Better Utilization of Advanced Practice Registered Nurses in Palliative Medicine Could Provide Relief, a briefing explaining how fully utilizing the advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) workforce has the potential to significantly mitigate the existing physician shortage and similar issues that may arise in the future, particularly in palliative care and hospice facilities.