Lawmakers move to shield records of DeSantis’ travel
Members of the Florida Legislature moved this week to shield Gov. Ron DeSantis’ travel records from the public, proposing to change the state’s public information laws just as the governor ramps up what is expected to be a 2024 presidential campaign.
The bill, which was advanced by state senators in both parties, includes a sweeping retroactive clause that would block the release of many records of trips already taken by DeSantis and other officials, as well as their families and staff members. The sealed information would include who accompanied officials like DeSantis on trips within Florida and around the country. In recent months, he has traveled widely as he promotes a book and moves toward a White House bid.
Florida has long had expansive public information laws, known as sunshine laws, codified in the State Constitution. They allow the public to gain access to a variety of government records, including criminal files, tax documents and travel logs. These laws have exposed abuses of state resources by Florida officials: In 2003, for example, Jim King, the president of the State Senate, was found to have used a state plane to fly home on the weekends.
On Wednesday, Republicans and Democrats unanimously passed the new bill out of the State Senate’s committee on governmental oversight and accountability. A similar bill moving through the House is currently before the subcommittee on ethics, elections and open government. Republicans have supermajorities in both chambers of the Legislature.
It was unclear why Democrats joined Republicans in voting the bill out of committee, and whether they would support it in the vote on the floor.
One Democratic state senator who voted in favor, Tina Polsky, said that she had initially thought the bill was solely about security and that she had now changed her mind and would not support the bill. She said she thought others might change their minds, too. The Florida Democratic Party roundly denounced the bill, saying Republicans were trying to hide DeSantis’ connections with wealthy donors.
Jonathan Martin, a Republican state senator from Fort Myers and the sponsor of his chamber’s bill, said in an interview with The Tampa Bay Times that the main impetus for the legislation was the heightened interest in DeSantis.
“There has been an increase in public records requests regarding our governor and his travel simply because of his notoriety and his position for the past few years,” Martin told the Florida newspaper. He added after the vote that security concerns had also played a role, saying: “I don’t think we’re trying to hide what the governor is doing or who he’s meeting with. I think what we’re trying to do is protect the people that are protecting him.”
The Legislature has often moved in lock step with Mr. DeSantis, rarely challenging him or publicly disagreeing with him for fear of retribution in the form of vetoes of special projects or threats of a primary challenge.
One Republican senator, however, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity, said that the effort to shield records could prove to be a risky move for the governor, and that “if the optics of it are such that some can’t vote for it,” it would be a sign of weakness for DeSantis.