Governor Rick Scott signed the budget privately in his lair Tuesday, presumably under the heat of a large sunlamp.

The good news is that there is an actual state budget, governor's signature and all, which means there won't be a state government shutdown July 1, which could have been bad.

The sucky news, according to many in either major party, is that the governor slashed a record number of line items he deemed unnecessary (i.e. in some way benefitting children. the elderly or animals). Among the biggest was $15 million for UCF's downtown Orlando campus, according to News Service of Florida.

When state lawmakers finalized their budget last week, and it was packed with tens of millions in last-minute additions, many of them hometown projects benefitting specific districts.

Some of the line items Scott vetoed were research projects at hospitals, including a $2 million veto of money slated for All Children's Hospital's Pediatric Research Zone, $2,000 raises for state workers who fight forest fires and $500,000 for MOTE Marine Laboratory.

He also vetoed a provision for free orange and grapefruit juice at welcome centers throughout the state as well as funding for an adults with disabilities workforce pilot program.


"Tax revenue is generated by Floridians who are working hard to provide for their families and we are committed to effectively using these tax dollars by investing them in areas with proven results,'' Scott said in a letter outlining the budget decisions, according to NSF. "That is why I have vetoed $461.4 million in special projects."

Senate President Andy Gardiner, an Orlando area Republican, was particularly critical of Scott for his veto of the disabled worker pilot program.


Scott faces substantial criticism from officials who typically publicly feign support of the unpopular governor, who purchased his second term last year.

The Miami Herald reports that Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam is especially critical of the denial of raises to Division of Forestry firefighters.

“I’m profoundly disappointed,” Putnam said, according to the Herald. “Our forest firefighters put their lives on the line. They’re demonstrably underpaid."

Pointing to inconsistencies in the budget, State Sen. Jack Latvala, a north Pinellas Republican, accused Scott's staff of not really knowing what they were doing, warning of consequences for Scott when his staff leaves to "take jobs in presidential campaigns and he’ll be left holding the bag," according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Latvala took to Twitter to air his grievances.


Blogger and AP reporter Gary Fineout noted on Twitter that, while plenty of lawmakers are disappointed by the governor's vetoes, one who probably isn't is House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, whose projects remain intact.

One bright spot for the Tampa Bay area is that, unlike UCF's downtown campus, Scott approved money to fund the relocation or USF's Morsani College of Medicine to downtown Tampa, which is kind of a key component to Lightning owner Jeff Vinik's plan to dramatically redevelop the Channelside district.

"Until today, we have been cautiously optimistic that this project would move forward," Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn said in a written statement. "Thanks to the strong commitment of the entire Hillsborough County legislative delegation and the support of Governor Rick Scott, we know today that this project will come to fruition.

This article appears in Jun 18-24, 2015.