Governor DeSantis & DOT Secretary Thibault Announce $250 Million Port Stimulus Relief Allocation

08/02/2021

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (July 29, 2021) – Governor Ron DeSantis and Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Kevin Thibault today announced allocation plans for the $250 million in COVID-related financial relief for Florida’s seaports, spreading economic relief across the state’s 15 seaports.

“This much needed financial infusion will help ensure Florida’s ports continue to deliver necessities to businesses and consumers,” said Michael Rubin, President and CEO, Florida Ports Council. “With cruise ships sidelined for more than 16 months, Florida has lost about 169,000 jobs and nearly $23 billion in economic activity through 2020. We thank Governor DeSantis, Senate President Simpson, House Speaker Chris Sprowls and DOT Secretary Thibault for their leadership.”

Earlier this week, the Florida Seaports Transportation and Economic Development Council (FSTED) released Seaport Mission Plan: Navigating Beyond the Pandemic, which shows that Florida’s seaports experienced declines consistent with the overall trend for 2020. Waterborne trade value, for example, decreased 16.1 percent compared to 2019, which is a drop off of $14.1 billion.

“This relief funding is incredibly important to Florida’s seaports and the many thousands of jobs that depend on our success. Our role and responsibility as economic drivers for the state of Florida could not be fulfilled without our partnership with the Florida Department of Transportation. We thank Governor DeSantis, the Florida Legislature and Secretary Thibault for their support of our mission delivering economic prosperity to our communities,” Canaveral Port Authority CEO Capt. John Murray, Chairman, FSTED.

At Governor DeSantis’ recommendation, and with the support of Department of Transportation Secretary Thibault, the Florida Legislature allocated $250 million in federal stimulus in the 2021-2022 state budget to help shore-up Florida’s seaport industry. The state budget went into effect on July 1, 2021.

During an announcement at Port Canaveral, Secretary Thibault announced the following allocations for financial relief:

  • Port Canaveral          $72,205,076.00
  • Port Everglades        $58,260,881.00
  • Port Fernandina        $806,772.00
  • Port of Fort Pierce    $806,772.00
  • JAXPORT                   $13,716,224.00
  • Port of Key West       $5,018,855.00
  • Port Manatee             $4,885,564.00
  • Port Miami                 $66,901,040.00
  • Port of Palm Beach  $4,050,839.00
  • Port Panama City      $806,772.00
  • Port Pensacola          $806,772.00
  • Port of Port St. Joe   $806,772.00
  • Port St. Pete              $806,772.00
  • Port Tampa Bay        $20,120,889

FLORIDA’S SEAPORTS ECONOMIC IMPACT:

  • 15 deep water seaports.
  • Supporting 900,000 direct and indirect jobs, and
  • $117.6 billion to Florida’s economy through cargo and cruise activities.
  • Generating approximately 13 percent of Florida’s GDP, and
  • $4.2 billion in state and local taxes.

ABOUT THE FLORIDA PORTS COUNCIL:

The Florida Ports Council (FPC), is a Florida nonprofit corporation that serves as the professional association for Florida’s fifteen public seaports and their management. FPC is governed by a Board of Directors comprised of the fifteen port directors with staff support located in Tallahassee. We provide leadership through a collective voice in the areas of state and federal advocacy, data and research, and marketing and communication.