FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 6, 2019
CONTACT: Logan Elizabeth Padgett
850-386-3131
With the passage of an $91.1 billion budget for the Sunshine State, the Florida Legislature concluded the 2019 session and adjourned “sine die” Saturday afternoon.
We congratulate Speaker Jose Oliva, President Bill Galvano, and the members of the Florida House and Senate on their many accomplishments during the 2019 session. In addition to a budget that respects taxpayer funds, this year the Legislature made tremendous strides for Floridians including:
- a major expansion of school choice via the Family Empowerment Scholarship program;
- the elimination of anticompetitive Certificate of Need laws, which stifled healthcare competition and harmed patients;
- addressing fraud and abuse plaguing families through of assignment of benefits reform; and
- the passage of the first broad-based reforms in more than 20 years that will begin to address persistent challenges in our criminal justice system.
“Florida continues to prove to the other 49 states that fiscal conservatism, a commitment to limited government, and free markets are the greatest recipe for economic prosperity for all” said Dr. Bob McClure, JMI’s President and CEO. “Speaker Oliva, President Galvano, and the entire Florida Cabinet are a beacon of leadership and I thank them for their work on behalf of more than 21 million Floridians.”
“Across the country, trends are moving in the direction of bigger government and more authoritarian control over every aspect of our lives. It is a joy to live in a state in which human dignity is preserved, and in which the principles that have amassed the greatest prosperity in human history are not only defended, but celebrated, and advanced” said Sal Nuzzo, Vice President of Policy at JMI. “Our Governor set out a bold agenda, and our legislative leaders rose to the occasion. We saw the best of Florida in this year’s session. Debates were vigorous, yet motivations were never disparaged. Members disagreed, and they engaged with one another in ways that politicians in D.C. should look toward in envy. I have always been proud to be a Floridian, but I can’t think of a time that I have been more proud.”
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