DeSantis Hands Out Checks to First Responders
News Service of Florida 
As Gov. Ron DeSantis personally handed out checks to first responders in ceremonies across the state on Tuesday, he said teachers and school principals are close to receiving similar COVID-19 bonuses. “Those should be arriving this week and into next week,” DeSantis said of the checks for educators and other first responders while at the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office in Pensacola.
The Panhandle appearance was the third of the day for DeSantis, as he distributed one-time payments of up to $1,000 to law enforcement officers, correctional officers, paramedics, emergency medical technicians and firefighters as a “thank you” for working through the pandemic. DeSantis started the day in Surfside, presenting checks to urban search-and-rescue task force members who worked in the aftermath of the collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium building. DeSantis’ second stop was the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
Legislators in the spring set aside $208 million from the federal American Rescue Plan Act stimulus law to provide money for more than 193,000 state and local first responders. Another $216 million in federal stimulus money was earmarked to cover the $1,000 checks for educators.
