x
Breaking News
More () »

Gov. DeSantis vetoes funding for Jacksonville firefighters in state budget

HB 2103 was among the bills vetoed by Gov. DeSantis. It's a bill that Jacksonville firefighters say would have helped them prevent cancer.

One month after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill increasing the benefits of firefighters diagnosed with certain types of cancer, he vetoed about $131 million in funding for projects from the state budget, including a bill that Jacksonville firefighters say would have helped them prevent cancer.

On Friday, DeSantis signed his first state budget of $91 billion that provides hundreds of millions of dollars for protecting water resources and offers almost $3 billion in hurricane recovery and preparedness efforts. 

He also vetoed several Florida bills, including 10 First Coast projects like HB 2103 titled "Jacksonville Fire Gear Extractors and Dryers."

The bill states that for the 2019-2020 fiscal year, $278,621 would have been appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Financial Services, which will in turn fund the installation of additional gear washers and dryers for the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department.

READ MORE >> Florida governor signs $91 billion state budget

READ MORE >> Florida governor signs bill to help firefighters with cancer

According to the Appropriations Project Request form:

"JFRD currently has eight (8) gear washers in use; however, the City of Jacksonville recently funded the purchase of ten (10) additional washers and ten (10) dryers. While this will build upon JFRD’s capacity, this capital project will fund the purchase and installation of ten (10) additional gear washers (commercial extractors) and eighteen (18) commercial gear dryers. Approval of this appropriation will expand JFRD’s total washer and dryer capacity to twenty-eight (28) fire stations." 

Later in the form, it states that funds would have helped expand washers and dryers to 18 additional fire stations.

"Without dryers, firefighters must wait an average air-dry time of 36-48 hours. Installing additional gear washers and dryers will significantly reduce the dry time to between 2-5 hours. Thus, firefighters will be more readily available to respond to emergencies," the form states.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health says firefighters have a 9 percent higher risk of being diagnosed with cancer, as well as a 14 percent higher risk from dying of cancer compared to the general U.S. population.

Firefighters are also twice as likely to be diagnosed with mesothelioma and testicular cancer and have a 62 percent higher risk of getting esophageal cancer, according to the form.

When we asked the City of Jacksonville what they thought of the veto, chief of staff Brian Hughes responded, "Although we didn’t get all of our requests, we are grateful to Gov. DeSantis for agreeing with the legislature when it came to two of our key initiatives."

Those two key initiatives include funding for Freedom Park, which will provide a peaceful place for veterans who suffer from PTSD, as well as funding for the City of Jacksonville's STEM Center in Northwest Jacksonville.

"[The] STEM Center will mean a state of the art technology facility for teens in the Moncrief community, $521,855 and $1 million will be provided for those programs, respectively," he said in a statement. "...We also look forward to continuing working with Gov. Desantis and making the case for Jacksonville priorities during the next session, just a few months away.” 

Click here to see the full 2019 veto list.

Before You Leave, Check This Out