DeSantis: Expect first-responder bonus checks

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis arrives at Top of The World in Ocala, Florida, Friday, March 5, 2021, to give an update on COVID vaccinations. [Cyndi Chambers/Correspondent] 2021

Gov. Ron DeSantis said he expects distribution “throughout the summer” of $1,000 bonuses that will go to first responders across the state for their work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The bonuses, funded with federal-stimulus money, are tied to a record $101.5 billion state budget that lawmakers approved last week. The budget has not formally gone to DeSantis.

“Now the budget will need to be signed. We’ll have to go through all the line items,” DeSantis said during an event Wednesday at the Temple Terrace Fire Department. “It takes a little bit of time, there’s a lot of money at stake. But we will do that. And then once that budget is signed and the funds get released, we’re going to start getting these checks out.”

As part of budget talks, legislators set aside $208 million from the federal American Rescue Plan Act to provide money for state and local first responders, including law-enforcement officers, firefighters, correctional officers and emergency medical technicians.