By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
The Senate dropped funding requests for a series of programs tied to Senate President Ben Albritton’s “rural renaissance” plan Thursday.
As fiscal year 2026-2027 budget conference talks moved into a third day of the ongoing special session, the Senate offer on economic development removed funding requests for several line items tied to Albritton’s plan: an office of rural prosperity, a rural toolkit program, a rural community development revolving loan fund, a public infrastructure smart technology grant program, a small business development center, and rural housing rehabilitation.
“Those were (President) Albritton’s priorities. We’re still kind of hashing that out,” Senate Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development Appropriations Committee Chairman Nick DiCeglie, R-Indian Rocks Beach, told reporters on Thursday. “So, again, I know stay tuned is not a great answer, but we’re in constant communications (with the House), which is good.”
The House budget didn’t include funding for any of the plan, which was part of a broader effort that failed to find House support after the Senate approved it in the 2025 and 2026 regular sessions.
The 2026 plan (SB 250) was approved by the Senate on January 14, the second day of the regular session.
The bill aimed to boost education, transportation and economic development in rural areas.
For example, it sought to attract and retain educators in rural areas by establishing a student loan repayment program that would provide up to $15,000 to teachers and administrators who live in the areas. Other examples include increasing money to help rural counties resurface and rebuild roads and creating an Office of Rural Prosperity at the Department of Commerce.
This year’s effort carried a lighter price tag than the 2025 bill, with the health care component getting coverage from the projected $209.9 million a year the state is to receive for five years for rural health care as part of the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act approved last summer.
The Senate had sought more than $45 million for the different rural programs.
Meanwhile, the House and Senate appeared to agree on spending $165.7 million for the longstanding State Housing Initiatives Partnership program, which provides grants to local governments for affordable housing.
Also, the Senate lowered its offer from $150 million to $112 million for the State Apartment Incentive Loan program, which provides low-interest loans to affordable housing developers. The House hasn’t offered anything for the SAIL program.
Meanwhile, no funding is currently listed from the House or Senate for the Hometown Heroes program, which is designed to help teachers, health-care workers and police officers buy homes, or for the Rural Workforce Program.
The Senate initially pitched $75 million for Hometown Heroes and $5 million for the Rural Workforce Program.
But DiCeglie told reporters the Senate plans to reinsert funding for the Hometown Heroes program in later negotiations.
The chambers remain at odds over the Job Growth Grant Fund, used by Gov. DeSantis to fund job training and infrastructure projects, but the Senate lowered its position from $50 million to $45 million. The House has yet to put up any funding for the fund, which received $50 million in the current budget.
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