TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — ​As Gov. Ron DeSantis weighs brandishing his line item veto power to pare back a state spending plan passed just before the coronavirus outbreak started wreaking havoc with Florida's economy, a key watchdog group is releasing its annual list of budget "turkeys" it believes should be vetoed.

Here's five questions asked and answered about state budget "turkeys," including some examples from this year's budget and what the governor is expected to do about them.

1. What are turkeys?

Turkeys are the rough Tallahassee equivalent of 'pork' in D.C. — taxpayer funded projects, often local in nature, that lawmakers slip into the budget outside of the formal appropriations process. The fly-by-night way turkeys are born means they don't receive as thorough a vetting as other spending proposals.

2. Which projects are being flagged this year?

In its 2020 Budget Turkey Watch Report unveiled Thursday, Florida TaxWatch is identifying 180 items in the 2020-21 state budget it deems to be turkeys. They represent $136.3 million in proposed state spending, but they aren't the whole story. 

TaxWatch says the recent rise of 'member projects' mean there are 829 other proposals worth more than $500 million in the budget.

3. What are some examples?

Among the turkeys are $1 million for the Tampa's Italian Club; $1.2 million for a roof replacement at Seminole State College in Central Florida; and $5 million for a satellite campus of Manatee-Sarasota State College, which is located, perhaps not coincidentally, in the backyard of Senate President Bill Galvano (R-Bradenton).

4. What's wrong with lawmakers 'bringing home the bacon'?

Nothing, according to TaxWatch CEO Dominic Calabro, but he says the funding should receive the same scrutiny from House and Senate appropriations subcommittees as ​broad spending decisions on core state responsibilities like transportation and criminal justice.

5. What is the governor expected to do?

The budget is expected to hit DeSantis' desk in the next two weeks, giving him time to make line item veto decisions before it takes effect July 1. Because of plummeting state revenues triggered by the coronavirus crisis, the governor told reporters in March that "it's safe to say that the vetoes are just simply going to be different," indicating he plans to make ample use of his veto pen.

Read Florida TaxWatch's 2020 Budget Turkey Watch Report below: