(FreedomBeacon.com)- Last week, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a $109.9 billion 2022/23 budget into law but added line-item vetoes totaling $3.1 billion, which included $35 million that would have gone to a youth sports complex earmarked as a possible spring training facility for the Tampa Bay Rays.
In explaining the vetoes during the signing ceremony last Thursday, DeSantis cited the need to protect Florida from “what very well may be a Biden-induced recession.”
Since becoming Florida Governor, DeSantis has vetoed a total of $5.7 billion in spending from the four budgets he signed into law, over half of that was vetoed from the upcoming 2022/23 budget alone.
The Republican governor explained that Florida is setting an example for the rest of the country “on how to be good stewards of taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars.”
Florida’s FY 22-23 budget is historic and is setting our state up for financial success. pic.twitter.com/Yrjbp00Fy8
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) June 4, 2022
According to Outkick.com, the governor decided to veto the $35 million earmark for the spring training facility after the Tampa Bay Rays released a politicized statement calling for an end to gun violence in the wake of the mass murder in Uvalde, Texas.
However, that assertion may be overstating things just a bit.
The Governor explained on Friday that he doesn’t support using taxpayer money for professional sports facilities, “period.” He conceded that he didn’t think taxpayers should subsidize the political activism of private corporations, but that wasn’t central to his decision to veto the spending.
Governor DeSantis: "I don't support giving taxpayer dollars to professional sports stadiums, period." pic.twitter.com/dxMAgbKuRy
— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) June 3, 2022
Governor DeSantis also vetoed a $20 million line item for two state-owned jets and $75 million for an environmental and oceanographic research facility at the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg.
