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Santa Rosa commissioners outline 2026 legislative priorities, urge support for veterans court after $6 million veto
Summary
Commissioners discussed the county's 2026 legislative agenda on Sept. 11, urging outreach to state lawmakers after the loss of roughly $6 million in funding that included a veterans court grant. Commissioners emphasized wastewater, water quality, FDOT projects, and conservation funds as priorities for delegation outreach.
Santa Rosa County commissioners on Sept. 11 discussed priorities for the 2026 legislative session and urged outreach to state lawmakers after the county lost about $6 million in state-directed funding earlier this year.
Local resident and veterans-court advocate Jerry Cooley told the board the loss of funding — which he said included money for a veterans court program — was "uncalled for" and asked commissioners to contact members of the legislative delegation to prevent a repeat. "My plea is that you just reach out to each one of them and say, hey, can we not do that this year?" Cooley said.
Commissioners agreed the county should be judicious in its asks but persistent. They identified several recurring priorities: wastewater and water-quality projects, Florida Department of Transportation work (including prioritization in the five-year plan), the Florida Defense Infrastructure Grant and job-growth grants, the small county outreach program (SCOP), and conservation funding for rural and family lands protection.
Commissioner Wright and others noted that while the Panhandle suffered vetoes last cycle, some projects still secured funding; staff and commissioners recommended sending a concise list of specific projects to the delegation at the Sep. 23 delegation meeting and prioritizing county capital projects that could be part of matches or requests.
The board also discussed recent state legislation that commissioners consider problematic, with speakers citing Senate bills that shift local land-use authority or change tax structures. One commissioner warned about proposals to remove or reduce property taxes, saying local services could be harmed if replacement revenues were not identified.
On veterans court specifically, commissioners said they will state support for the program to the delegation while avoiding confrontational language. "If we just said we support veterans court ... we would ask that you do the same," one commissioner said during the discussion. Staff and commissioners agreed to present a prioritized project list at the upcoming delegation meeting and to pursue state funding for wastewater and water-quality infrastructure as top requests.
