Monitor Editor
LAKE BUTLER— A legislative appropriation that would have provided $135,000 to improve security at the Union County Courthouse died on June 30 after Gov. Ron DeSantis failed to sign the bill authorizing the expenditure.
The grant was one of 238 local support grants totaling $175 million that the legislature appropriated in addition to the state’s $112.1 billion budget approved by lawmakers.
DeSantis trimmed the budget to $109 billion using his line-item veto.
Tallahassee lawmakers earmarked federal COVID-19 relief funds and state surplus dollars to fund the local grants.
The legislation also included a $1,000 bonus for first responders.
Other area grants that expired with the governor’s inaction included $1 million for a Clay County substance abuse recovery center and $500,000 for a Clay County recreational sports complex near Camp Blanding.
The state already awarded Clay County one $500,000 grant for the sports complex. County officials were seeking a second half-million-dollar grant.
