House GOP demands text messages, emails from DeSantis administration in spending probe
Florida House Republicans on Friday issued letters to Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration, demanding text messages, emails and records that stretch back years as the chamber tries to investigate possible wasteful government spending in the executive branch.
The House is demanding administration officials turn over the information by May 16, according to the letters obtained by the Herald/Times through a public records request. If they do not provide answers, the possibility of using subpoenas is on the table, House Speaker Daniel Perez told reporters last week.
'I am confident that you, as a public agency, share our commitment to full transparency and accountability in the spending of public funds,' House Budget Chair Lawrence McClure wrote in the letters issued on Friday. 'In that spirit, I look forward to your cooperation in responding fully and promptly to this request.'
When asked about the demand letters, the governor's office said 'Florida's agencies have already spent hundreds of hours in meetings and document production—only to get hit with another performative request from the House.'
The office did not immediately say, when asked, whether state agencies intend to respond.
The information House leaders are requesting is expansive. They are asking five state agencies and the executive director of the Florida State Guard, a state militia under the governor's control, for emails, text messages, accounting records, contracts, meeting transcripts and more. In some cases, the information sought stretches back to July 2017.
House leaders want to know more about 2,279 state vehicles that are worth a collective $57 million and that are nowhere to be found, according to a state audit. They are inquiring about top state agency officials' travel expenses. They are asking for information about the money being spent to train and deploy Florida State Guard members. And they are demanding state agencies turn over 'all communications and documents' related to Hope Florida, a key initiative of the first lady, and the charity that supports it.
Earlier this week, DeSantis criticized House Republicans who raised questions about his wife's initiative, calling them 'liberal legislators.' The governor also defended state officials steering a $10 million donation to the charity created to fund Hope Florida. The donation was part of a $67 million settlement reached between a state agency and Florida's largest Medicaid contractor.
Centene could have chosen to make the contribution separately to the charity. But the fact that it was included in a negotiated settlement may run afoul of a state law requiring settlement money be deposited in a trust fund or the state's general revenue fund, where lawmakers can oversee it.
Perez told reporters on Wednesday that the transaction 'looks as if it could be illegal.'
The demand letters issued Friday are also demanding state agencies and the Florida State Guard turn over information about settlement agreements or proposed settlement agreements, and their communications with Hope Florida and its charity. The request signals that House leaders want to know if the administration has reached other state settlements that they do not know about.
More broadly, the letters come as House Republicans have expressed frustration about a lack of cooperation by officials in the DeSantis administration during committee hearings that have taken place in recent weeks.
While some of those meetings were 'productive,' McLure said state officials have not yet provided all the information and records they need to 'continue our oversight function of state agencies.'
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