As Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis spars with his own party over his state’s budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, some of his proposals for how to accomplish that will leave Black business owners in Florida out in the cold.
According to The Miami Herald, DeSantis’ $115.6 billion budget is merely a recommendation, Florida’s Republican legislative body will create the actual budget in March when they call for the state’s two-month legislative session.
DeSantis and his fellow Republicans have been at odds over his spending, which as recently as the week of Jan. 31, included a $350 million proposal earmarked for sending migrants to other countries.
Lawmakers, who balked at this proposal, instead passed a bill stripping DeSantis of most of his ability to enforce immigration in the State of Florida.
This arrangement has led DeSantis to look intently at paring down the state’s spending, but notably, not in his own office, which is projected to grow by approximately $11 million.
In service of this ideal, according to Florida Politics, DeSantis’ budget, which he has titled “Focus on Fiscal Responsibility,” will cancel the $2.2 million Black Business Loan Program, a program that Black business owners rely on to help them access capital which they are often denied by conventional lending institutions.
In addition to
this, DeSantis’ budget also maintains the elimination of the Broadband, Equity Access, and Development Grant Program, a program that helps to ensure equal access to the internet in areas that typically have a deficiency in that area.DeSantis’ budget also calls for a $100 million decrease for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which, like the previous program, is tied to socioeconomic status, and seeks to help low income individuals who struggle with their electric bills.
According to House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, DeSantis’ proposed budget is not designed to help Florida residents deal with the rising costs of living, but to drive headlines.
“The Governor’s budget proposal focuses on grabbing headlines and trying to keep him relevant in the national spotlight while leaving Florida’s families behind,” the Democratic Representative said in a statement to The Miami Herald.
According to WPBF 25, Florida, and in particular, Miami has a thriving Black business community. In 2023, a LendingTree survey placed the city as America’s 14th best city for Black businesses.
This is in part due to the work of the South Florida Black Chamber of Commerce, whose work spotlighting agencies who will work with Black-owned businesses looks to be crucial, with the elimination of Florida’s state funding.
As Matt Schulz, LendingTree’s chief analyst, told CBS News, “Black applicants who apply for credit are about twice as likely to be denied credit or be approved for less credit. The more that organizations like the Black Chamber of Commerce can do, the better, because the need is certainly there.”
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