Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed spending for a Jacksonville fairground restroom and for two Emerald Trail segments in Jacksonville but he largely left untouched the biggest items added by state lawmakers to the 2026-27 budget.
The spending items that stayed intact includes renovations for an academic building at the University of North Florida, a new road through the Southside, the proposed Culinary Institute of America campus in downtown, safety upgrades in the sports complex, and a crosswalk on the western stretch of Baymeadows Road where a father and his child died.
Vetoes by DeSantis eliminated $1.75 million toward construction of a restroom building at the Jacksonville Fairgrounds on the Westside, $750,000 for the 11th and 12th Street Connector project in the area around UF Health Jacksonville that connects to the Emerald Trail, and $750,000 for extending the Hogan Street section of the Emerald Trail from Union Street to First Street.
Here are the items inserted by lawmakers for line-item funding that survived DeSantis line-item review and remained in the budget DeSantis signed June 29.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: DeSantis vetoes Jacksonville Fairgrounds and Emerald Trail items
Reporting by David Bauerlein, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By David Bauerlein, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union | USA TODAY Network
