An Introduction to Budget Turkeys and the Sprinkle List

About the Budget Turkey Watch Report

The Budget Turkey Watch report is Florida TaxWatch's annual review of Florida's upcoming budget. The report was started in 1983 and promotes oversight and integrity in the state’s budgeting process based on the principle that: because money appropriated by the Legislature belongs to the taxpayers of Florida, the process must be transparent and accountable, and every appropriation should receive deliberation and public scrutiny. The budget review identifies appropriations that circumvent transparency and accountability standards in public budgeting.

Budget Turkeys are items, usually local member projects, placed in individual line-items or accompanying proviso language that are added to the final appropriations bill without being fully scrutinized and subjected to the budget process.

The Budget Turkey label does not signify judgment of a project’s worthiness. Instead, the review focuses on the Florida budget process, and the purpose of the Budget Turkey label is to ensure that all appropriations using public funds receive the deliberation, debate, and accountability they deserve. While a project may be worthwhile, Budget Turkeys tend to serve a limited (not statewide) area, are often not core functions of government, are more appropriately funded with local or private dollars, and can circumvent competitive bidding or selection as well as oversight and accountability.

Florida TaxWatch is not recommending that the Governor veto any specific project on the Budget Turkey list. We are providing this report to assist the Governor in his budget deliberations, recommending that he not only consider the value and efficacy of a project, but also if it meets turkey-criteria, if it addresses a core state government function, and if it was selected through a fair process that promotes the best interest of taxpayers statewide.

A project that circumvents established review and selection processes or has completed the established process but is funded ahead of much higher priority projects (as determined by the selection process);

Appropriations that are inserted in the budget during conference committee meetings, meaning they did not appear in either the final Senate or House budgets;

Appropriations from inappropriate trust funds; duplicative appropriations; and appropriations contingent on legislation that did not pass; and/or

Appropriations that may have been in the House or Senate budget, but were removed by agreement in conference, only to be added back at the last minute through the supplemental appropriation (“sprinkle”) lists.

Thursday, March 23, 2023

/ Categories: Research, Budget/Approps, Budget Turkeys

Water Turkeys: Despite Increased Funding for Florida’s Water Resources and the Creation of New Competitive Grants Processes, Local Member Earmarks are Proliferating

In 2020, the Governor and Legislature created the Wastewater Grant Program, which has received funding of $741 million. They also created the Office of Resilience and Coastal Protection to help ensure Florida’s coastal communities are prepared for the impacts of flooding and sea-level rise. In 2021, the Resilient Florida Grant Program, with a dedicated source of funding, was created to help local governments with resiliency projects and planning. Despite all this additional funding made available by the Legislature through both new and established grant programs, scores of member requests for local water and resiliency projects also appear in the budget without going through a grant review process by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Florida TaxWatch supported the Governor’s water restoration and resiliency funding recommendations.

In a 2020 report, we highlighted the many environmental, economic, health, and recreational benefits this investment can provide to the public. Another Florida TaxWatch report examined the effects of climate change and sea level rise on each sector of Florida’s economy, and recommended ways to mitigate those impacts. Florida TaxWatch also supports the integrity of the state budget process. Each year, in our Budget Turkey Watch report, we identify appropriations that circumvent proper review, transparency, and accountability standards. The report is presented to the Governor for inclusion in his or her budget review and veto considerations. Waterrelated member projects have been a focus of that report.

This report examines the various avenues for local funding assistance that currently exist, how the Legislature funds water projects requested by members, and makes recommendations to improve the process.

An Introduction to Budget Turkeys and the Sprinkle List

About the Budget Turkey Watch Report

Water Turkeys: Despite Increased Funding for Florida’s Water Resources and the Creation of New Competitive Grants Processes, Local Member Earmarks are Proliferating

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