“Some want to defund the police. We’re funding the police and then some,” he said, reported the Daily Caller.
DeSantis explained the gifts during a news conference Wednesday at the Satellite Beach Police Department. The Republican governor said the bonuses were given in part to praise and endorsement of the work first responders have done during the coronavirus pandemic.
"They were out there, every single day, our police, our fire, our EMTs, and they had to work more than they ever have," DeSantis said.
DeSantis intends to use between $9 and $10 billion of federal relief funds included in President Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid package to dole out $1,000 bonuses to first responders in the state, he told First Coast News.
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The $101.5 billion state budget was approved by the Florida Legislature last week, NBC reported.
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“Florida’s policies have been more effective and yet with the advent of the federal stimulus bill, we are getting comparatively less money than our population because our unemployment is lower and a lot of those states that have much higher unemployment are getting much, much -- billions and billions of dollars more,” DeSantis said.
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The state is still waiting on federal guidelines that will likely stipulate how the money is spent. It’s also unknown when and how the money will be distributed.
With potential limitations in mind, DeSantis outlined how he’d like $4.1 billion from the American Rescue Plan to be spent. He said the remaining $6 billion or so will be “left up to the legislative discretion.”
Below is the list of measures DeSantis provided during a news conference in Tallahassee on Tuesday along with a quote from the governor about each one.
DeSantis warned that right now the plans are proceeding until the federal government provides more details on how the American Rescue Plan money can be spent.
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“Part of what is going to be determined is what was your revenue loss, the way they’re calculating the revenue loss. We’re not sure how much Florida would qualify or not, we’re going to be going through those numbers, we’re going to have to look at the guidance that comes out, which should probably take a couple more weeks, and then look to also see what the disbursement schedule is for this.”
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