Gov. Ron DeSantis used his line-item veto power to slash more than $131 million in proposed spending Friday as he signed a record $90.98 billion budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

Calling the package “fiscally responsible,” the freshman governor praised lawmakers for exceeding his request for spending on environmental projects and for a boost in per-student funding in public schools.

Gov. Ron DeSantis played the waiting game, at least as far as Capitol insiders were concerned, as speculation percolated throughout the week about when the Republican chief of state would uncap his red pen for the first time and veto items tucked into the new state budget.

The waiting might have been the hardest part for some, but the 90-minute notice given to Tallahassee reporters to cover Friday afternoon’s budget press conference may have been even more painful.

Forensic experts will return next month to the site of a notorious state reform school --- where the remains of more than 50 people were unearthed in 2015 --- to find out what lies in 27 additional sites.

Florida Secretary of State Laurel Lee said Thursday that once they can determine what the below-ground “anomalies” are at the former Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, officials will then begin to establish “appropriate next steps,” which could include further digging.