A LobbyScape guide
The Florida D-3A
(Schedule III-A) form, explained
The D-3A is where every Florida appropriation begins. If you can't read one, you can't track your client's project through the budget.
What it is
Schedule III-A: the agency appropriation request
The Schedule III-A — commonly called the D-3A — is the form Florida state agencies use to request appropriations from the Legislature. Every D-3A submission represents an agency's ask for funding for a specific program, project, or recipient.
Who files
Every Florida state agency files D-3As as part of their annual budget request to the Governor's Office of Policy and Budget (OPB).
When filed
Submitted by mid-October each year for the upcoming fiscal year. These become the baseline going into the legislative session that starts in January.
What it contains
Project title, requesting agency, recipient organization, dollar amount requested, fiscal year, statutory authority, geographic restriction (county, region, district), and a justification narrative.
How to read one
The fields that matter to a lobbyist
A D-3A is dense. Most of the substance is in five fields you need to know how to read.
Project title
The official name of the appropriation. Pay close attention — titles often change between the D-3A and the final GAA. The project you're tracking might end up under a slightly different name in the GAA line item.
Requesting agency
The state agency on the D-3A. This is where funds flow when enacted. The same project can sometimes be routed through different agencies between chambers (e.g. Dept of Health vs Dept of Elder Affairs) — track carefully.
Recipient
The organization that ultimately receives the funding. Often a local government, university, hospital, nonprofit. This is your client.
Dollar amount
The requested amount. The enacted amount in the GAA is often different — partially funded, fully funded, or sometimes increased in conference.
County / geographic restriction
Most local appropriations are geographically scoped. Track this so you can see your work concentrated by region.
Justification narrative
The why. What program does it fund, what statutory authority, what outcomes are expected. The proviso language in the eventual GAA often references this justification.
Member projects vs D-3A
Not every appropriation starts as a D-3A
Agency D-3As are one stream. Member projects — sponsored by individual House or Senate members on behalf of constituents — are the other.
Member project distinction
A member project is filed by a member during session as part of the appropriations process, not by an agency in the prior October. It still ends up as a GAA line item with similar structure (recipient, amount, county, proviso) but the origin is different.
Same project, different paths
Some projects appear in both streams — an agency D-3A and a member-sponsored alternative. Track both.
How LobbyScape handles it
We index both streams under a unified "appropriation request" model so you see your portfolio regardless of how each item entered the budget process.
What happens next
From D-3A to GAA — every stage tracked
The D-3A is just the starting point. The same line item moves through House PCB, Senate SPB, conference, the enacted GAA, and the Governor's veto pen — often with the dollar amount, recipient, or proviso language changing at each stage.
Stage tracking
LobbyScape watches every appropriation through D-3A submission → House PCB inclusion → Senate SPB inclusion → conference offers and counteroffers → enacted GAA → Governor action.
Title-change matching
Because titles often shift between stages, our system fuzzy-matches D-3A entries to the GAA line items they descend from — so you can see the through-line even when the project gets renamed.
Year-over-year comparison
Recurring appropriations can be compared across fiscal years — funding levels, proviso language, conditions.
Outcome reporting
"You moved $X.XM through Florida's budget this cycle" — auto-generated, sourced to actual GAA enactments, defensible to clients.
Related guides
Keep reading
How the Florida budget works
From D-3A through GAA and veto, every stage of the FL appropriations process.
How a bill becomes law in Florida
Drafting, committees, floor action, conference, Governor — every stage that matters.
The D-3A form, explained
What the Schedule III-A is, who files it, and what every field means.
Track all of this in one place
LobbyScape watches every stage so you don't have to.
Bills, committees, hearings, transcripts, the full budget pipeline including the chair-to-chair offer trail — all in one platform built for Florida lobbyists. Schedule 30 minutes and we'll show you what your portfolio looks like.