DeSantis, Florida GOP Clash Over ‘Rainy Day Fund’

September 16, 2026

Gov. Ron DeSantis eventually got the Legislature to put his property tax cut measure on the ballot, but he’s not on board with a different amendment backed by GOP leaders in his party.

DeSantis on Monday evening came out against Amendment 1, which would increase the amount of money lawmakers can put into a key reserve fund. It increases the cap on the balance of the budget stabilization fund from 10 percent of the previous year’s general fund revenue to 25 percent.

“This is a foolish constitutional amendment proposal. We already have a maxed out rainy day fund and have run the largest surpluses in state history,” DeSantis posted on X. “Any additional revenue should be used for lower taxes, including assisting local governments with grants so that homestead properties can be exempt from local property tax. Surplus revenue could also be used to remove tolls once the property tax issue is settled. I recommend a NO vote.”

DeSantis was responding to a post by the Republican Party of Florida supporting the measure.

“The Florida GOP has officially endorsed Amendment 1,” RPOF’s official X account stated. “This amendment will help strengthen Florida’s rainy day fund so the state can handle storms, downturns, and other emergencies without raising taxes or raiding the budget.”

The measure also directs the Legislature to put up to $750 million into the fund each year until the 25 percent figure is reached, except in years where the reserve fund is used to help recover from a hurricane or other natural disaster or patch over a projected shortfall.

The last time the reserve fund was used was in 2008, in the middle of the Great Recession as the state faced a multi-billion dollar shortfall.

Lawmakers approved the measure (HJR 5019) in 2025, voting 100-1 in the House and 29-4 in the Senate to put it on the ballot.

Legislative leaders backed the proposal as a hedge against a severe downturn in the economy that leaves the state unable to cover critical needs without raising taxes or fees.

“This is just a preparation of being prepared for the unexpected, and none of us know what the unexpected is, but we have a sample to look at in the 2000s when we had a recession,” then-House Speaker Daniel Perez told reporters in June 2025 when the measure was moving through the Legislature. “The state of Florida was not prepared for that recession.”

Amendment 1 needs 60 percent of the vote to become law.

by The News Service of Floridaf

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under FRONT FEATURE