Latest news with #HB1445
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawmakers pass restrictions on state employees' politicking, cut off funds for agency heads' travel
Brevard County Republican Rep. Debbie Mayfield. (Photo courtesy of the House of Representatives) In a near-unanimous vote, the Florida House gave final approval Friday to a bill tightening restrictions against state employees' participation in political campaigning. The bill, HB 1445, is narrower than what the Florida House first proposed. The lower chamber wanted to bar state employees from soliciting contributions for political parties, committees, or candidates during working hours. The Senate changed that language, replacing it to prohibit contribution solicitations that are coercive, explicitly stating that state employees suggesting someone make a political donation is OK under the bill. The language lawmakers agreed upon also stops state employees from participating in any political campaign, not just those for elective offices, when they're supposed to be working. Throughout the legislative session, the involvement by state officials in Gov. Ron DeSantis' political campaign against last year's failed ballot initiatives to legalize recreational marijuana and restore abortion access prompted legal challenges came under scrutiny. The move to restrict politicking from state employees came after NBC News first reported that state employees in the governor's office called lobbyists to request donations for a political committee aligned with DeSantis as he and First Lady Casey DeSantis hinted that she was considering a run for governor. Although the proposal from Republicans Rep. Debbie Mayfield of Melbourne and Sen. Erin Grall of Vero Beach is on its way to the governor's desk, DeSantis has already said he would veto it. 'They're pulling it out of their rear ends and trying to jam it through this process. Over my veto pen,' DeSantis said of the proposal during an April 15 press conference in Pensacola. DeSantis' main criticism of the bill at the time involved a provision requiring agency heads to live in Tallahassee, which the governor referred to as a 'swamp.' However, the final version cuts off reimbursement for agency heads to travel to Tallahassee. For example, state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo lives in Pinellas County. Final passage of HB 1445 came well into the evening of the 60th day of the legislative session and with little debate. Mayfield reminded the chamber that the sole vote against the bill when the chamber first passed it on April 16 came from Delray Beach Republican Rep. Michael Caruso, a staunch DeSantis ally. Caruso was also the sole vote against the bill on Friday. Two provisions that remained intact in the compromise between the House and Senate require people appointed to universities' boards of trustees and the board that oversees Florida's public higher education institutions to live in the state or have graduated from the specific school they serve, or from any state university for the statewide board. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Over DeSantis' objections, House votes to require appointees to live in Tallahassee
Brevard County Republican Rep. Debbie Mayfield. (Photo courtesy of the House of Representatives) With no debate, the House voted 111-1 on Wednesday to prohibit unelected state employees from conducting campaign-type activities during working hours and require agency heads to live in Tallahassee. Similar legislation is advancing in the Senate, but Gov. Ron DeSantis has signaled that he will veto the proposal if it reaches his desk. The governor has targeted Melbourne Republican Rep. Debbie Mayfield's bill, HB 1445, during press conferences this week, saying it would become law 'over his veto pen.' State employees couldn't participate in political campaigns, solicit contributions, or use their authority to influence people's votes under the bill. Those prohibitions would apply both to candidate and issue campaigns, and employees could face first-degree misdemeanor penalties if they do so. The sole vote against HB 1445 came from Delray Beach Republican Rep. Mike Caruso, the only House lawmaker standing with the governor this year. Mayfield referred to her proposal on the House floor as good public policy. HB 1445 makes 'several changes with the goal of ensuring that our elected officials and our appointed officials are fully committed and focused on their primary duties of serving the state of Florida,' the sponsor said. DeSantis hasn't publicly addressed the anti-politicking aspect of the legislation. Instead, he has focused on the requirement that his appointees live in the state capital by Oct. 1, the location of all agency headquarters. 'They're pulling it out of their rear ends and trying to jam it through this process. Over my veto pen,' DeSantis said, likening Tallahassee to the D.C. swamp. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE The involvement by state officials in DeSantis' campaign against the ballot initiatives to legalize recreational marijuana and restore abortion access prompted legal challenges last year and has come under renewed scrutiny this legislative session. State House deepens probe of Hope Florida Foundation's political activity A House panel is investigating the transfer of legal settlement money through the Hope Florida Foundation to campaign against the marijuana initiative. Then-DeSantis' chief of staff, now state attorney general, James Uthmeier organized the money transfer to the anti-pot committee, Keep Florida Clean, which he ran, according to evidence unearthed by reporters and a House committee. Uthmeier played down any suggestion of wrongdoing during a press conference Monday, saying there's 'not a problem.' Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo appeared in press conferences against the marijuana constitutional amendment and got sued over the health department's letters threatening broadcasters that aired ads on behalf of the pro-abortion-rights campaign, Amendment 4. Additionally, the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration's creation of a webpage stating that Amendment 4 'threatens women's safety' and its then-secretary Jason Weida's promotion of it prompted a complaint to the Florida Supreme Court, which ultimately sided with the DeSantis administration because the plaintiff lacked standing to sue. Aside from the DeSantis administration's use of state resources against the ballot initiatives last year, state employees in the governor's office called lobbyists to request donations for a political committee aligned with DeSantis as he and First Lady Casey DeSantis hinted that she was considering a run for governor, according to NBC News. The Senate version, SB 1760, doesn't include the provision against state employees' involvement in campaign activities, and needs to go through one more committee before it could be eligible for a floor vote. Both bills would require university trustees and members of the Board of Governors that oversees public universities to be U.S. citizens and live in Florida, unless they graduated from a state higher education institution. Mayfield, sponsor of the House bill, won a suit against the Florida Department of State Secretary Cord Byrd, a DeSantis appointee, after Byrd attempted to block Mayfield from appearing on the ballot for a special election in the state Senate district seat she previously held. The Republican representative won the primary for the Brevard County district with 60.81% of the vote on April 1. The general election is June 10 and Mayfield has resigned from the House effective June 9. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill would crack down on state workers who solicit campaign cash on duty
TALLAHASSEE — DeSantis administration employees who solicit money for political campaigns or campaign for political issues while they are supposed to be doing their jobs could face criminal penalties under a proposal moving in the Florida House. The bill, HB 1445, appears to take aim at staffers in Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration who reportedly solicited political contributions for his presidential bid and have asked state lobbyists to commit money to a political committee as first lady Casey DeSantis considers a run for governor in 2026. 'What this says is that whether it's after hours or during hours, which is already prohibited, you cannot solicit funds, you cannot be engaged in the political campaign fundraising process,' the bill sponsor, state Rep. Debbie Mayfield, R-Melbourne, said during a House committee hearing last week. The bill would also prohibit state employees and officers from participating in any political campaigns, whether it be on behalf of a candidate, a political committee or an issue on the ballot, while on duty or during hours for which they are compensated by the state. And state employees would be barred from using their positions to influence or interfere with an issue on the ballot. State employees who violate the fundraising or political campaign provisions could be charged with a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in prison, according to the bill. The sweeping House ethics proposal is the latest example of how House Republican leaders are trying to rein in an executive branch that has increasingly blurred the lines between campaign politics and state duties by using taxpayer-funded resources. It also appears to target some of the ways in which the DeSantis administration used the power of state government and its employees' time to defeat ballot measures related to abortion and marijuana in the last election cycle. The governor enlisted his chief of staff to serve as the chairman of a political committee targeting both ballot measures, and administration officials like Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo participated in official news conferences advocating against the issues. Employees at a Florida health agency also launched a state-sponsored website that took a position against the abortion ballot measure. The bill could be considered by the full Florida House as early as Wednesday. So far, it has bipartisan support. 'It seems like we need to do more than just tap people on the hand,' state Rep. Ashley Gantt, D-Miami, said during the committee hearing last week. Some employees have been finding loopholes and 'exploiting them,' Gantt said. The governor's office did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment on the proposal. In addition to this bill, Republicans in the Legislature are also advancing legislative proposals that would prohibit state funds from being used to advocate for or against constitutional amendments. Florida law already sets boundaries around the political activities public officers can engage in and bars career government employees from using their official positions to 'secure support for, or oppose any candidate, party, or issue in a partisan election.' DeSantis has defended his administration's efforts in the past, saying state agencies 'have the authority to educate the public on resources available under Florida law.' The bill would not apply to the political and fundraising activities of elected officials. It would only apply to state employees and officers, including senior administration officials who are not elected. If approved, the House bill would make the legal boundaries between political activities and state duties more clear. But it remains unclear how enforcement of such changes would play out in the future. Former Attorney General Ashley Moody at one point last fall argued that high-ranking state officials, like the governor, are exempt from the law that prohibits using their offices to influence an election — and that 'leaders have both a duty and right to say which course of action they think best, and to make use of their offices for this purpose.' The anti-Amendment 4 website hosted by the Agency for Health Care Administration led to court challenges from people who argued the state was improperly using its official power, including one case in front of the Florida Supreme Court. The state's high court, which has five DeSantis-appointed justices sitting on it, declined to intervene, in part saying it does not compel criminal prosecution or allow private citizens to enforce a criminal law. Moody, who was recently appointed to the U.S. Senate by the governor, made a similar argument, saying that because the law is enforced with criminal penalties, it would have to be the attorney general or other state official, like a statewide prosecutor or state attorney, who takes action. Florida's current attorney general, James Uthmeier, is the governor's former chief of staff who helped coordinate the amendment opposition campaign. When the abortion amendment campaign sued over the Agency for Health Care Administration website in circuit court, a judge declined to block the state website, saying that it wasn't appropriate for the courts to decide what people should consider in an election. Uthmeier's office did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.
Politico
12-03-2025
- Business
- Politico
Florida Republicans turn on DeSantis administration in DOGE-like quest to cut spending
TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Gov. Ron DeSantis has frequently praised Elon Musk and his efforts to find waste in federal government spending. He's repeated how Florida was 'DOGE before DOGE was cool' — a reference to the Department of Government Efficiency led by the billionaire. But key Florida House Republicans are now calling out the DeSantis administration on spending and hiring decisions. They criticized one agency because it can't tell legislators how many cars the state owns. Agency secretaries were found to be working remotely even though their main headquarters are in Tallahassee. And a House panel discovered one agency spent tens of thousands of dollars on travel expenses for four state employees who aren't living in Florida. Other budget panels are also asking questions about the number of vacant positions across multiple state agencies and whether those jobs can be eliminated. The search for overspending is yet another sign of growing strife between the governor and the state's GOP-led Legislature, tensions that have come to a boil this year. 'We are the guardians of the taxpayer,' state House Speaker Daniel Perez said during the opening day of the legislative session, when he called on members to explore state spending. Perez has already countered DeSantis' assertions that Florida has kept spending in check in recent years, although the governor last year used his veto pen to keep state budget levels relatively flat between 2024 and 2023. So far, the initial inquiries represent a return to an era of legislative panels skeptical about actions of the executive branch. While some DeSantis agency heads would clash at times with Democratic legislators, it has been rare to see GOP lawmakers challenge top administration officials. The governor's office did not respond to a request for comment about the House actions. Amelia Angleton, a spokesperson for Perez, said, 'He is interested in our budget subcommittees ensuring that the taxpayers are receiving value for what they spend and he's encouraged subchairs to find savings and efficiencies in government.' On Tuesday, a state House budget panel spent time sharply questioning a Department of Management Services deputy secretary over spending issues in that agency, such as four employees — including the state's chief data officer who is paid more than $200,000 a year — who don't live in Florida. DMS wound up spending nearly $60,000 on travel expenses for these employees, much of it to cover trips to Tallahassee. The House State Administration Budget Subcommittee also questioned why Florida Lottery Secretary John Davis traveled to Paris late last year for a convention of lottery operators. That same committee a week ago went over an audit of DMS that raised questions about whether the state knows how cars it currently owns. A different House panel — the House Government Operations Subcommittee — also on Tuesday advanced a bill (HB 1445) that would bar any state agency head from working in a county outside of the agency's home county. Such a restriction would apply to several top DeSantis appointees, including state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, who just last week noted at a press conference he lives in Pinellas County, not Tallahassee. 'I don't think we ought to be paying somebody travel expenses to fly down here once every two weeks to put out the fires he could have put out two weeks ago had he been in the office,' said state Rep. Griff Griffits, a Panama City Beach Republican. State Rep. Vicki Lopez, the chair of the House State Administration Budget Subcommittee, agreed. 'The secretary of the Lottery lives in Orlando, the secretary of DMS lives in Miami,' Lopez said. 'I see more and more people being called back to the office, and so I don't see why they need to live anywhere. If you accept the job as the secretary, you should live here where your agency his housed.' Florida does not generally allow state workers to work remotely, except for when they are sick or deemed to have specialized skills unavailable in Tallahassee. DMS Deputy Secretary Tom Berger told Lopez' panel the four out-of-state employees were brought in to work on the state's cybersecurity efforts. But he could not say whether there was an open search for the positions or how many people applied for them. Berger also drew sharp criticism from Lopez after he said one reason DMS doesn't have an up-to-date accounting of how many cars the state owns is reliance on other agencies to submit information. The Legislature earlier this year sparred with DeSantis over immigration, and although they resolved their differences, there remain abundant signs of a strained relationship between the governor and legislative leaders. The same bill that would bar agency heads from living outside of Leon County also requires appointees of the governor to be U.S. citizens and Florida residents — a requirement that could derail appointments such as that of Scott Yenor to the University of West Florida board of trustees. Yenor, an university professor in Idaho, has come under fire for some his past comments including about women in the workplace.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Florida Republicans turn on DeSantis administration in DOGE-like quest to cut spending
TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Gov. Ron DeSantis has frequently praised Elon Musk and his efforts to find waste in federal government spending. He's repeated how Florida was "DOGE before DOGE was cool" — a reference to the Department of Government Efficiency led by the billionaire. But key Florida House Republicans are now calling out the DeSantis administration on spending and hiring decisions. They criticized one agency because it can't tell legislators how many cars the state owns. Agency secretaries were found to be working remotely even though their main headquarters are in Tallahassee. And a House panel discovered one agency spent tens of thousands of dollars on travel expenses for four state employees who aren't living in Florida. Other budget panels are also asking questions about the number of vacant positions across multiple state agencies and whether those jobs can be eliminated. The search for overspending is yet another sign of growing strife between the governor and the state's GOP-led Legislature, tensions that have come to a boil this year. 'We are the guardians of the taxpayer,' state House Speaker Daniel Perez said during the opening day of the legislative session, when he called on members to explore state spending. Perez has already countered DeSantis' assertions that Florida has kept spending in check in recent years, although the governor last year used his veto pen to keep state budget levels relatively flat between 2024 and 2023. So far, the initial inquiries represent a return to an era of legislative panels skeptical about actions of the executive branch. While some DeSantis agency heads would clash at times with Democratic legislators, it has been rare to see GOP lawmakers challenge top administration officials. The governor's office did not respond to a request for comment about the House actions. Amelia Angleton, a spokesperson for Perez, said, "He is interested in our budget subcommittees ensuring that the taxpayers are receiving value for what they spend and he's encouraged subchairs to find savings and efficiencies in government." On Tuesday, a state House budget panel spent time sharply questioning a Department of Management Services deputy secretary over spending issues in that agency, such as four employees — including the state's chief data officer who is paid more than $200,000 a year — who don't live in Florida. DMS wound up spending nearly $60,000 on travel expenses for these employees, much of it to cover trips to Tallahassee. The House State Administration Budget Subcommittee also questioned why Florida Lottery Secretary John Davis traveled to Paris late last year for a convention of lottery operators. That same committee a week ago went over an audit of DMS that raised questions about whether the state knows how cars it currently owns. A different House panel — the House Government Operations Subcommittee — also on Tuesday advanced a bill (HB 1445) that would bar any state agency head from working in a county outside of the agency's home county. Such a restriction would apply to several top DeSantis appointees, including state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, who just last week noted at a press conference he lives in Pinellas County, not Tallahassee. 'I don't think we ought to be paying somebody travel expenses to fly down here once every two weeks to put out the fires he could have put out two weeks ago had he been in the office,' said state Rep. Griff Griffits, a Panama City Beach Republican. State Rep. Vicki Lopez, the chair of the House State Administration Budget Subcommittee, agreed. 'The secretary of the Lottery lives in Orlando, the secretary of DMS lives in Miami,' Lopez said. 'I see more and more people being called back to the office, and so I don't see why they need to live anywhere. If you accept the job as the secretary, you should live here where your agency his housed.' Florida does not generally allow state workers to work remotely, except for when they are sick or deemed to have specialized skills unavailable in Tallahassee. DMS Deputy Secretary Tom Berger told Lopez' panel the four out-of-state employees were brought in to work on the state's cybersecurity efforts. But he could not say whether there was an open search for the positions or how many people applied for them. Berger also drew sharp criticism from Lopez after he said one reason DMS doesn't have an up-to-date accounting of how many cars the state owns is reliance on other agencies to submit information. The Legislature earlier this year sparred with DeSantis over immigration, and although they resolved their differences, there remain abundant signs of a strained relationship between the governor and legislative leaders. The same bill that would bar agency heads from living outside of Leon County also requires appointees of the governor to be U.S. citizens and Florida residents — a requirement that could derail appointments such as that of Scott Yenor to the University of West Florida board of trustees. Yenor, an university professor in Idaho, has come under fire for some his past comments including about women in the workplace.
