Florida Gov. to Sign Budget Including $1,000 Bonuses for Police, First Responders

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said he will soon sign a budget that will include $1,000 bonuses for all police officers, firefighters and first responders in the state, totaling about $208.4 million.

“Some want to defund the police. We’re funding the police and then some,” he said, reported the Daily Caller.

DeSantis discussed the bonuses during a news conference Wednesday at the Satellite Beach Police Department. The Republican governor said the bonuses were done in part to honor the work first responders have done during the coronavirus pandemic.

"They were out there, every single day, our police, our fire, our EMTs, and they had to work more than they ever have," DeSantis said.

DeSantis plans to use between $9 and $10 billion of federal relief funds included in President Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid package to dole out $1,000 bonuses to first responders in the state, he told First Coast News.

The $101.5 billion state budget was approved by the Florida Legislature last week, NBC reported.

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