On the cusp of his final year in office, Gov. Ron DeSantis wants a $117 billion budget – about $2.2 billion more than the current year – with more money for education, infrastructure and environmental projects.

That’s in keeping with his approach since he entered office in 2019 when the first budget he signed was $91 billion. The last seven years has seen major disruptions, especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the infusion of billions in federal aid, but DeSantis has mostly stuck to the same script while attempting to keep spending down from the COVID years, when the spending plan ballooned to more than $118 billion.

“What the budget does is it builds off of the success that we’ve had,” DeSantis said Dec. 10 at an event in Orlando. “It’s putting our people first and making sure we

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