Why a Miami lawmaker was one of just two votes against Florida's state budget

Miami Herald

3 hours ago

When Florida lawmakers finally landed on a finalized budget after over a month of debate and infighting, nearly everyone in the Legislature voted yes — except for two House Democrats.
One of them was Dotie Joseph, a term-limited state representative from North Miami who represents Florida's 108th House District. She took issue with a number of budget items, adding that since she has just a year and half left in office, she is especially careful to endorse things that benefit her district. She said a lack of funding for affordable housing and cuts to hundreds of vacant positions were major sticking points for her.
The other 'no' vote was Rep. Angie Nixon, a Jacksonville Democrat who cited similar concerns.
Lawmakers touted a slimmer budget this year, managing to slash $3.5 billion in an attempt to mirror the Trump administration's efforts to cut down on federal government spending and brace for a possible economic downturn. Still, the Florida budget has swelled by more than 26% since Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, took office in 2019, outpacing population increases and often inflation rates.
For Joseph, the state's priorities didn't add up, especially when it comes to affordable housing.
State-sponsored efforts to encourage affordable housing development through the Housing Finance Corporation saw major cuts. They amounted to a loss of $223.8 million in areas like the State Apartment Incentive Loan program and the State Housing Initiatives Partnership, as well as the Hometown Heroes program that provides down-payment assistance to first time home buyers.
In the current budget proposal, Miami-Dade County does receive $3 million for its own individual affordable housing project, but that doesn't make up the difference, Joseph said. Almost 60% of renters in the greater Miami area are cost-burdened, meaning they spend at least 30% of their monthly income on housing, according to a 2023 Census Bureau survey — the most of any metropolitan area in the country.
'I don't approve of that [the cuts] at a time where we need it quite a bit,' Joseph said.
Meanwhile, state and local immigration enforcement got a major boost, including an offer of a $1,000 bonus per officer for any local law enforcement office that agrees to work directly with ICE. The Legislature set aside $3 million for the program this year. The city of Miami controversially voted to enter into the agreement earlier this week.
And DeSantis' Florida State Guard, a separate entity from the National Guard made up of volunteers that he has sole control over, nearly doubled its funding to $36.5 million. The guard was not active until 2022, when it was revived to respond to 'man-made and natural disasters,' according to its website. But officials have also discussed its revival in the context of aiding law enforcement with riots and illegal immigration. It has faced controversy in the past for its militaristic training.
Those enforcement-based focuses did not align with Joseph's vision for the state budget, she said. She thinks the money could have gone toward state employee salaries rather than slashing 1,700 vacant positions across a variety of departments, the current solution on the table. The positions are empty because the state doesn't pay enough, she said, not because they're unnecessary.
'It doesn't mean that the need goes away,' Joseph said. 'So we just cut the positions? No, you address what the underlying issue is.'
She also listed a variety of other issues. The per-student allocation in the education budget, though it was raised, hasn't kept up with inflation. The Florida Forever program, meant to acquire lands for conservation, took a $500 million hit. Though the state's Medicaid reimbursement rate for retirement homes was increased, there are other home healthcare options that don't have reimbursement options.
There are some things she takes as a win, like $10 million set aside for sickle cell research and a 2% statewide employee pay raise, which is 'not always the case,' she said.
And the cuts she's disappointed in could have been worse, she said. House speaker Rep. Danny Perez, a Miami Republican, was initially pushing for nearly $6 billion in cuts in the House's initial proposal. Those would have targeted what Joseph sees as essential health and human services.
'If this came down to my one vote that would make it pass or fail, I might have voted in favor of it,' Joseph said. 'There are a lot of good things in the budget that I argued for, fought for and even got appropriations for. But because my vote was not critical, I saw no need to vote yes when there are things I absolutely, vehemently object to.'