TALHASSEE – A Florida Republican catered specifically to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ political agenda while he was on political rise. Now, as the governor approaches the end of his final term, many of those same lawmakers are trying to hold him down.
Lawmakers have reduced the governor’s ability to transport immigrants anywhere in the country. They are trying to ban the use of taxpayer dollars for a political campaign to amend the constitution after millions of people fought two voting measures on abortion and marijuana last year. And Florida House Committee has scrutinized the governor’s veto and the agency’s spending and employment decisions in his administration.
Influential House Republicans on Wednesday said some agencies in the Desantis administration were not operating as efficiently as necessary. As Desantis has repeatedly said this statement relates to the efficiency of the Elon Musk-led government, which Florida is “Doge before Doge gets cool” and maintains federal spending.
“If the governor really wanted to be a doge, the budget he submitted to us a few months ago would have been a doge,” R-Miami Rep. Vicki Lopez told reporters. “What we’re finding is that Congress is actually making Doge’s efforts.”
Three weeks after the annual legislative meeting, these are some examples of how Congress, under solid Republican control, is trying to cut the governor’s powers and reassert its oversight powers over the administration.
The faces from Republican lawmakers show the changes in the political ecosystem that have long been dominated by DeSantis. As he prepared to run for president in 2024, lawmakers from his own party quickly followed his agenda. But the newly rebellious GOP-controlled parliament means, for the first time, Desantis needs to work to pass the policies of his preference, as well as dodge those who could erode his authority in his last year.
In some of the most controversial exchanges, lawmakers have trained executive officers for taxpayer dollar use, raising concerns about one of the state agencies employing out-of-state employees spending tens of thousands of dollars on travel expenses, including commuting.
Legislators fight with state agency managers
On Wednesday, before the House Committee of Florida, Administration Secretary Pedro Allende opened fire during tension-related interrogation.
It was the second time the agency has been scrutinized by the committee on several issues. Lawmakers also question the agency’s decision to hire four out-of-state employees and spend $56,598 to commute to other states dating back to 2023.
One of the employees, the state’s chief data officer, lives in Maryland and receives a travel allowance of $3,500 per month. Allende explained that the agency allows him to work remotely, but said the employee “has been on a Florida holiday” and that his family has a home in Daytona Beach.
Another concern is that out-of-state employees are part of a data team that has not yet completed key state pay and benefits data projects. The project had to be completed in 2022 by state law.
“If all these people are working on it, what exactly are they doing and why isn’t it finished yet?” Lopez said.
The explosive exchange comes a week after lawmakers on the same committee questioned why Florida lottery secretaries spent nearly $3,000 to attend a meeting in Paris. The committee also said in a recent state audit it found 2,279 state vehicles that department stocks were missing for $57 million.
“You hire these IT professionals from out of state or wherever you come from, but you still don’t know how many cars Florida has.”
Legislators aim for other items
With legislative sessions in full swing, lawmakers have the opportunity to set budgets for all the functions of the state government and set new statutory rules that state officials should follow.
This year, it will include where state agencies live and how quickly they need to implement what lawmakers approve, set new requirements in the governor’s office to post information about contracts to sign during emergencies, and create a new government position that includes investigations into “fraud, waste, abuse” within the enforcement department.
State Rep. Debbie Mayfield, R-Melbourne, wants to require agents and department heads to live in Leon County, where these entities are based. Mayfield said the bill was “no one embarrassed,” and she said she didn’t say which state officials live outside of the state’s capital counties.
However, General Joseph Radapop made the headline in 2023 when he bought a $1.6 million home in Pinellas County. Jared Perdieu of the Florida Department of Transport moved his official headquarters to Orlando, where he and his family lived before they got to work.
A traffic spokesperson told the Times/Herald in 2023 that the decision was made “to become a good custody of taxpayer dollars” and that he spent only 36% of his time working in Tallahassee. The rest of my time traveled the state to attend industry events.
State law assumes that the relocation of official headquarters is “in the agency’s best interests and not for the convenience of the person.” The department has not handed over emails related to the relocation decision almost a year and a half after it was requested by Times/Herald.
Lawmakers are also targeting what’s going on behind the scenes.
The Florida Senate voted unanimously on Wednesday to increase the transparency and speed required for state agencies to implement the law.
Sen. Erin Grall of R-Vero Beach said the bill is needed as lawmakers have worked on many initiatives during Congress.
“This could be like seeing the paint dry,” Senate President Ben Albritton said Wednesday. “But at the end of the day, the Florida Legislature’s proposal to the state government is one of the boldest moves and an important move.”
Democrats in both the House and Senate have welcomed changes to the administrative division, big and small. They began to focus on the shift after House Speakers Daniel Perez and Albritton sparred with DeSantis on an immigration package earlier this year.
“That rift isn’t necessarily a bad thing,” House minority leader Fentris Driskel told reporters last month. “To become a Congress, and to become an administrative department, you need to become an administrative body.”
Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith of D-Orlando agrees.
“This trend encourages us because it means that Congress is advocating for independence,” he said. “It’s been a long time late.”
