Latest news with #DeSantis-backed
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hope Florida Foundation paid woman who then posted video praising charity
TALLAHASSEE – The Hope Florida Foundation paid a Lakeland physical therapy assistant $588 in March. Days later, a social media video popped up of the woman praising how the organization tied to First Lady Casey DeSantis helped her out of poverty. 'I had no high school diploma,' said Ginger Faulk, a 35-year-old mother of two, describing her circumstances when she contacted Hope Florida in 2021. 'I couldn't pay the rent or put food on the table, until I met my Hope Navigator.' Hope Florida gave her the resources to get an education, Faulk said in the video, adding that she graduated from college with honors 'as a medical practitioner.' The curious payment to Faulk — disclosed among other foundation expenditures in response to a public records request from the Orlando Sentinel — adds to the swirl of questions surrounding the state's Hope Florida program and the Hope Florida Foundation, its associated non-profit. DeSantis administration officials have claimed the program has helped 30,000 people off welfare but have provided scant details about who and how. An earlier report by the Sentinel about the experience of another Hope Florida client, touted in an online magazine, found the claims did not match what the woman said actually happened, overstating the help she was given. Reached by phone, Faulk declined to comment for this story. The Hope Florida Foundation and Department of Children and Families, which oversees the foundation, did not respond to questions about the money sent to Faulk either. Faulk's video was released just as Gov. Ron DeSantis was pushing the Legislature to make Hope Florida an official part of the state government, instead of a loosely affiliated program across more than a dozen different state agencies without a budget of its own. Within weeks, that effort sparked a legislative inquiry into the program. The inquiry, led by a House committee led by Rep. Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola, soon prompted controversy when it was revealed that $10 million from a $67 million Medicaid settlement meant to pay back Florida for prescription drug overpayments instead landed in the coffers of the Hope Florida Foundation. That money was then quickly redistributed to two nonprofits that in turn gave millions to a DeSantis-backed political committee set up to defeat Amendment 3, the ballot measure that would have made recreational pot legal. The March payment was the second time in two years Faulk received money from the Hope Florida Foundation. She also was given $392 in May 2024. And she appeared to be on the administration's radar. DeSantis mentioned her in his state-of-the-state speech at the opening of the 60-day legislative session in March, using her story to pitch his Hope Florida legislation, which would ultimately be rejected by lawmakers. And last year the DeSantises honored Faulk as a Florida Hero at the governor's mansion. The Florida Heroes brochure said she was a hero for using Hope Florida to get short-term rental and utility assistance from a local charity so she could focus on her education and career goals, pass her GED and enroll in a CareerSource healthcare program. Without knowing why the foundation paid her, Faulk's video casts some doubt over her motive for providing a testimonial, said Bob Jarvis, a law professor at Nova Southeastern University. 'There is nothing wrong with a recipient expressing gratitude,' Jarvis said. 'But if she was paid, as a paid spokesperson, that should be disclosed.' The payments to Faulk are among the dozens of unexplained payments listed in the foundation's $550,000 worth of expenditures made since its inception in August of 2023. The list of payments provided to the Sentinel did not include any details about the purpose of the spending. The largest single payment was $100,000 to Florida Emergency Management Assistance Inc., also known as the Florida Disaster Foundation, a direct support organization for the Division of Emergency Management created in 2023. Two Panhandle resorts owned by the same company received the next largest amount of money — $55,500 to the St. Joe Resort and $40,000 to Camp Creek Inn. The largest collective expense was the distribution of $1,000 bonuses to each of the 156 state workers who had been reassigned as Hope Navigators. Another half dozen state employees received bonuses of $2,500 each. Mallory McManus, the former deputy chief of staff at DCF, received $7,456. The Hope Florida Foundation and DCF did not respond to questions about these expenditures, either. 'Those expenditures need more clarity and detail,' Jarvis said. The larger sums raise the most questions, including what services those companies provided to receive those funds and how they spent it, Jarvis said. Also, he asked, what is the foundation doing with the remaining $1.5 million? 'What are the plans for that?' Prior to receiving its now controversial $10 million donation from the Medicaid provider, the foundation had only raised $2 million and paid out the $550,000, according to a spreadsheet the Orlando Sentinel received. The records only identify the amount paid, the date and the recipient. Requests for supporting documentation that might explain the purpose of the donations are still pending.
Miami Herald
03-05-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
A look at the notable bills that didn't pass as Florida lawmakers leave Tallahassee
Florida's lawmakers ended their regularly scheduled session Friday without completing their one required duty — passing a budget. Lawmakers will have to come back to Tallahassee starting the week of May 12 to finish their work. Leaders on Friday evening said they had developed a 'framework' for their budget plan and extended session until June 6. Though lawmakers have more work ahead, as they leave town Friday, they leave a slew of dead bills behind them, including some dealing with major issues that Gov. Ron DeSantis prioritized. In the end, lawmakers passed about 230 bills, dealing with things like prohibiting local governments from putting fluoride in the water, protecting state parks and making changes to the ballot initiative process. But any help for beleaguered homeowners on the troubled property insurance market went unaddressed through legislation, despite House Speaker Daniel Perez opening the session with a plan to investigate insurers based on Herald/Times reporting. Lawmakers also couldn't agree on ideas to regulate Florida's hemp marketplace and to reform the state's child labor laws. Here's which issues failed to cross the finish line. Property insurance Property insurance is one of the most important issues to Floridians who have found themselves bogged down under expensive bills. Florida's Office of Insurance Regulation sought a bill that would have required more transparency from insurance companies. The proposal would have required insurers to break down their rate filings, including how much money goes to affiliate companies. But the bill that would require that report moved through only one committee in the Senate and none in the House. Other ideas to reform the property insurance market also failed to gain traction, including bills that would have changed how the My Safe Florida Home program is funded and one that would have opened up the state-run Citizens Property Insurance to everyone. Lawmakers did, though, pass a bill to repeal a public records exemption and make information on insurance executives' compensation, corporate governance and risk assessments open to the public. Hope Florida This year, DeSantis sought to codify the Hope Florida program into law. That bill got lawmakers looking at the program, and sparked a larger war between the House and DeSantis' administration over the Hope Florida Foundation and a $10 million donation it received from the Medicaid provider Centene as part of a settlement. The Florida House held multiple committee hearings, grilling state agency heads as well as the chairman of the Hope Florida Foundation. They also submitted records requests related to executive spending and communication on Hope Florida. As the House began its digging, lawmakers chose to leave the DeSantis-backed bill on the table. First lady Casey DeSantis, who is reportedly eyeing a run to succeed her husband as governor, has made the Hope Florida program a cornerstone of her work. Hemp Both the Florida House and Senate sought to control the state's hemp marketplace, which allows retailers to sell high-potency, intoxicating products that sometimes have THC levels high enough to classify as marijuana. A 2024 Herald/Times analysis showed that products often contain things dangerous for people to consume, like pesticides, yeast and mold. Both chambers wanted to reform testing requirements for hemp and change how products are packaged and sold. But the Senate took a more aggressive approach, proposing banning all delta-8 products and hemp products containing other cannabinoids like delta-10, HHC, THC-O-Acetate, THCP and THCV. Ultimately, the House and Senate bills were too different to reconcile. Child labor A proposal that would have allowed some teenagers to work overnight and unlimited hours didn't pass through the Florida Senate following public opposition and after some senators expressed hesitation. In the House, lawmakers amended the bill to prohibit teenagers 16 and 17 from working later than 10 p.m., and passed that version through their chamber despite Perez saying he still had some concerns about the legislation. But the Senate bill failed to get scheduled beyond the first committee meeting. Records show DeSantis' office pushed for the legislation. A few weeks after DeSantis' office sent a draft bill to lawmakers, he said during a panel with President Donald Trump administration's border czar that a younger workforce could help replace 'dirt cheap' labor from migrants who are in the country illegally. Property tax DeSantis came into the legislative session with an idea to eliminate or significantly reduce property taxes. A change like that could only be accomplished if at least 60% of voters approved it during the next election cycle. But lawmakers didn't put forward any language to appear on the 2026 ballot. Perez said that DeSantis' office never presented specifics. In response, Perez said that the House would create a special committee to put together a proposal for the next legislative session. He outlined five starting ideas that he thought the committee could work with, including giving lawmakers the power to change the homestead exemption instead of requiring it to go to voters. Senate President Ben Albritton has also been open to the idea of reducing property taxes, but has said it requires further study. E-Verify One of DeSantis' longtime immigration priorities did not make it across the finish line. A bill that would have required all employers in the state to use E-Verify, a federal online system that checks the legal eligibility of new workers, passed the Florida House but did not get final approval in the Florida Senate. Florida law requires companies with 25 or more employees to screen their employees through the system. DeSantis has tried to get Republicans in control of the state Legislature to expand the requirement to all employers in the state. Earlier this year, Republican lawmakers criticized the DeSantis administration for not enforcing the state's existing E-Verify laws. The Department of Commerce had issued eight enforcement letters to companies at the time. Shortly after the criticism, DeSantis' administration issued warning letters to 40 companies. Higher education DeSantis' ability to install political allies at the helm of public colleges and universities will not be changed through legislation this year. A bill approved by the Florida House sought to prohibit the governor and employees in his administration from discussing a presidential vacancy or anticipated opening with state and local university leaders. DeSantis railed against the proposal and called it 'asinine.' Even though the bill was overwhelmingly approved by the House, the proposal stalled in the Senate. The proposal emerged two months after the governor's office pushed Florida International University to hire Jeanette Nuñez as its interim president without a search. Nuñez was serving as DeSantis' lieutenant governor when the governor's office advocated for her hiring. She now earns an annual salary of $850,000 as interim president, according to her contract. Herald/Times Tallahassee bureau reporter Ana Ceballos contributed to this report.
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Here are the issues that died in the 2025 Florida legislative session
TALLAHASSEE — Florida's lawmakers ended their regularly scheduled session Friday without completing their one required duty — passing a budget. Lawmakers will have to come back to Tallahassee starting the week of May 12 to finish their work. Leaders on Friday evening said they had developed a 'framework' for their budget plan and extended session until June 6. Though lawmakers have more work ahead, as they leave town Friday, they leave a slew of dead bills behind them, including some dealing with major issues that Gov. Ron DeSantis prioritized. In the end, lawmakers passed about 230 bills, dealing with things like prohibiting local governments from putting fluoride in the water, protecting state parks and making changes to the ballot initiative process. But any help for beleaguered homeowners on the troubled property insurance market went unaddressed through legislation, despite House Speaker Daniel Perez opening the session with a plan to investigate insurers based on Times/Herald reporting. Lawmakers also couldn't agree on ideas to regulate Florida's hemp marketplace and to reform the state's child labor laws. Here's which issues failed to cross the finish line. Property insurance is one of the most important issues to Floridians who have found themselves bogged down under expensive bills. Florida's Office of Insurance Regulation sought a bill that would have required more transparency from insurance companies. The proposal would have required insurers to break down their rate filings, including how much money goes to affiliate companies. But the bill that would require that report moved through only one committee in the Senate and none in the House. Other ideas to reform the property insurance market also failed to gain traction, including bills that would have changed how the My Safe Florida Home program is funded and one that would have opened up the state-run Citizens Property Insurance to everyone. Lawmakers did, though, pass a bill to repeal a public records exemption and make information on insurance executives' compensation, corporate governance and risk assessments open to the public. This year, DeSantis sought to codify the Hope Florida program into law. That bill got lawmakers looking at the program, and sparked a larger war between the House and DeSantis' administration over the Hope Florida Foundation and a $10 million donation it received from the Medicaid provider Centene as part of a settlement. The Florida House held multiple committee hearings, grilling state agency heads as well as the chairman of the Hope Florida Foundation. They also submitted records requests related to executive spending and communication on Hope Florida. As the House began its digging, lawmakers chose to leave the DeSantis-backed bill on the table. First lady Casey DeSantis, who is reportedly eyeing a run to succeed her husband as governor, has made the Hope Florida program a cornerstone of her work. Both the Florida House and Senate sought to control the state's hemp marketplace, which allows retailers to sell high-potency, intoxicating products that sometimes have THC levels high enough to classify as marijuana. A 2024 Times/Herald analysis showed that products often contain things dangerous for people to consume, like pesticides, yeast and mold. Both chambers wanted to reform testing requirements for hemp and change how products are packaged and sold. But the Senate took a more aggressive approach, proposing banning all delta-8 products and hemp products containing other cannabinoids like delta-10, HHC, THC-O-Acetate, THCP and THCV. Ultimately, the House and Senate bills were too different to reconcile. A proposal that would have allowed some teenagers to work overnight and unlimited hours didn't pass through the Florida Senate following public opposition and after some senators expressed hesitation. In the House, lawmakers amended the bill to prohibit teenagers 16 and 17 from working later than 10 p.m., and passed that version through their chamber despite Perez saying he still had some concerns about the legislation. But the Senate bill failed to get scheduled beyond the first committee meeting. Records show DeSantis' office pushed for the legislation. A few weeks after DeSantis' office sent a draft bill to lawmakers, he said during a panel with President Donald Trump administration's border czar that a younger workforce could help replace 'dirt cheap' labor from migrants who are in the country illegally. DeSantis came into the legislative session with an idea to eliminate or significantly reduce property taxes. A change like that could only be accomplished if at least 60% of voters approved it during the next election cycle. But lawmakers didn't put forward any language to appear on the 2026 ballot. Perez said that DeSantis' office never presented specifics. In response, Perez said that the House would create a special committee to put together a proposal for the next legislative session. He outlined five starting ideas that he thought the committee could work with, including giving lawmakers the power to change the homestead exemption instead of requiring it to go to voters. Senate President Ben Albritton has also been open to the idea of reducing property taxes, but has said it requires further study. One of DeSantis' longtime immigration priorities did not make it across the finish line. A bill that would have required all employers in the state to use E-Verify, a federal online system that checks the legal eligibility of new workers, passed the Florida House but did not get final approval in the Florida Senate. Florida law requires companies with 25 or more employees to screen their employees through the system. DeSantis has tried to get Republicans in control of the state Legislature to expand the requirement to all employers in the state. Earlier this year, Republican lawmakers criticized the DeSantis administration for not enforcing the state's existing E-Verify laws. The Department of Commerce had issued eight enforcement letters to companies at the time. Shortly after the criticism, DeSantis' administration issued warning letters to 40 companies. DeSantis' ability to install political allies at the helm of public colleges and universities will not be changed through legislation this year. A bill approved by the Florida House sought to prohibit the governor and employees in his administration from discussing a presidential vacancy or anticipated opening with state and local university leaders. DeSantis railed against the proposal and called it 'asinine.' Even though the bill was overwhelmingly approved by the House, the proposal stalled in the Senate. The proposal emerged two months after the governor's office pushed Florida International University to hire Jeanette Nuñez as its interim president without a search. Nuñez was serving as DeSantis' lieutenant governor when the governor's office advocated for her hiring. She now earns an annual salary of $850,000 as interim president, according to her contract. Times/Herald Tallahassee bureau reporter Ana Ceballos contributed to this report.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Florida GOP lawmakers look to layer new demands on state's ballot measures
Florida lawmakers are moving forward with new restrictions certain to make it more difficult and costly to get ballot measures before voters. But they're steering clear of an even tougher step proposed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. More than a dozen Floridians and representatives of voter organizations spoke against the measure advancing Monday in the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee, warning that lawmakers were threatening a rare form of direct democracy: Florida's citizens' initiative process. 'We shouldn't open the door to more government control of the people's voice, which is exactly what this bill does,' said Jonathan Webber, Florida policy director for the Southern Poverty Law Center. But Sen. Erin Grall, R-Vero Beach, who helped craft the Senate legislation, said stricter oversight of ballot campaigns was needed: 'How much fraud is acceptable? I think that's what we have to ask ourselves.' The Republican-controlled Legislature is targeting citizens' initiatives in the wake of two high-profile efforts last year on abortion rights and recreational marijuana which came just short of winning approval from a required minimum of 60% of voters. Outside estimates suggest DeSantis may have spent anywhere from $20 million to $100 million in taxpayer money opposing the measures, which critics said was an improper use of public funds. But senators ignored DeSantis' call to outlaw third-party signature gathering by organizations that must raise almost 900,000 verified petition signatures from voters to get a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot. And, in an additional swipe, the Senate panel tacked an amendment onto the bill Monday that in the future would prohibit the spending of public dollars to support or defeat a ballot measure. DeSantis has said his spending was allowable, saying the TV and online effort he mounted fell under the category of 'public service announcements.' 'I think we'll have the guidance through this bill now with that language to make sure taxpayers are not footing the bill for political efforts,' said Sen. Jennifer Bradley, R-Fleming Island, who sponsored the amendment. Governor claimed fraud... DeSantis-backed report accuses abortion amendment backers of signature gathering fraud Idea could kill ballot measures... DeSantis proposals would derail Florida citizen initiatives. What will lawmakers do? Advocates for ballot campaigns weren't breathing much easier, though, despite DeSantis' third-party signature ban not being included. Ballot campaigns in recent years have successfully gotten voters to support higher minimum wage, medical marijuana and voting rights for those previously convicted of felonies, issues lawmakers refused to act on in the Legislature. But the Senate's approach (SPB 7016) still would impose plenty of new requirements for campaigns trying to get an idea before voters. Many of the new restrictions mirror a similar measure in the House (HB 1205). Among the changes: A $1 million bond that campaign backers need to post before collecting signatures. New restrictions on signature collectors, including training and registering with the state. A prohibition on non-citizens and some felons from acting as collectors. The bill also would reduce from 30 days to 10 days the deadline for initiative sponsors to submit petitions to elections supervisors for verification and increase fines for petitions that are submitted late. Signed petition forms from voters would have to include voters' driver's license or Florida identification card numbers or the last four digits of their Social Security numbers. Supervisors of elections also would have to mail voters a notice when their signatures are verified on petitions and let them respond if signatures were forged or misrepresented. The DeSantis-created Office of Election Crimes and Security released a report last year alleging rampant fraud in the Amendment 4 abortion rights campaign, claiming thousands of fraudulent signatures were submitted and petition-gatherers were being paid illegally per signature. That campaign paid a $164,000 fine in a settlement following Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd seeking a $328,000 fine for the petition problems. John Kennedy is a reporter in the USA TODAY Network's Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jkennedy2@ Follow him on X: @JKennedyReport. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Lawmakers look to layer new requirements onto Florida ballot measures
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Florida lawmakers work to settle DeSantis rift as they open a new session on immigration
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida lawmakers on Tuesday took a major step toward settling a weekslong standoff between term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis and fellow Republicans who control the Statehouse, as they gaveled in another special session on immigration aimed at leveraging state and local resources to carry out President Donald Trump 's mass deportation agenda. DeSantis, who is widely expected to have presidential aspirations in 2028, has been locked in an unusual political tussle with Trump's allies in the Legislature, who have been pushing back on bills that could give the lame duck governor an edge on the president's signature issue. But after days of jockeying and negotiations, lawmakers announced a package of compromise bills Monday that includes input from DeSantis and other state officials, as well as the White House. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Here's what to know about Florida's special session on immigration, which began Tuesday. What's behind the statehouse showdown DeSantis is used to getting his way in Tallahassee. But after daring to challenge Trump for his party's nomination, the governor is losing his grip on the Statehouse. When he ordered lawmakers to Tallahassee for a special session on immigration last month, they tossed out his ideas and gaveled in their own session — advancing a proposal that would have ceded much of DeSantis' power on immigration to the state's agriculture commissioner. DeSantis blasted the provision as putting the 'fox in charge of the hen house", implying farmers want to continue to hire immigrants who are in the country illegally. DeSantis pledged to veto the legislation, which he labeled as 'weak', and back Republican primary challenges against lawmakers who supported it. But after legislators brokered a compromise with input from DeSantis and the Trump administration, the governor applauded the new package as an 'aggressive bill that we can stand fully behind.' What's in the bills The package of bills lawmakers offered this week includes many of their previous proposals, with the overall goal of boosting state and local participation in the federal government's work to arrest, detain and deport people in the country without legal authorization. A notable change in the compromise legislation includes doing away with the provision that would have created a new role of chief immigration officer to be held by the state's agriculture commissioner — an idea DeSantis vehemently opposed. Instead, the measure would create a new state board of immigration enforcement, made up of the governor, the ag commissioner and the other two members of Florida's Cabinet. The new package also includes proposals that DeSantis had pushed lawmakers to include, such as making it a state crime to enter Florida without legal authorization. Another DeSantis-backed measure would require pretrial detention for people in the country without legal authorization who are charged with forcible felonies. Like the previous measure, the compromise bill would increase criminal penalties for immigrants without legal authorization who commit crimes and mandate the death penalty for those convicted of capital offenses. The measure would also repeal a state law allowing Florida students who don't have legal immigration status to qualify for in-state tuition at public colleges and universities. How much would this cost? The legislation carries a $298 million price tag — significantly less than the $515 million slated for the previous proposal. The package includes funding for more than 80 new positions related to immigration enforcement, as well as grants for local governments to cover expenses like new equipment and staff training, bonuses for officers who help carry out federal enforcement, and reimbursement for leasing detention facilities to the federal government. Notably, the compromise bill does away with a controversial program created under DeSantis that used millions in taxpayer funds to transport migrants out of the state. The governor's allies had pushed for $350 million to expand the state-led program. Instead, lawmakers are proposing a retooled version of the program that would require federal officials to 'specifically request assistance' for the state to transport migrants, 'consistent with federal law.' What's at stake politically The ongoing debate has exposed a major rift between DeSantis and many of the state's GOP legislators — and demonstrated lawmakers' willingness to go toe-to-toe with the powerful governor who previously wielded influence over the Legislature like no other governor in the state's recent history. Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Senate President Ben Albritton downplayed the tension between the lawmakers and the governor, saying he doesn't expect it to affect the regular session that begins March 4. 'No, I don't believe there's going to be carryover,' Albritton said. 'We've worked our way through that.' Meanwhile in the House, lawmakers are moving ahead with a process to consider voting to override DeSantis' budget vetoes from last year — a constitutional flex that Florida lawmakers haven't exercised in 15 years that underscores their willingness to challenge and potentially overpower the governor. ___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
