Florida’s Republican Party-led state Legislature on Tuesday approved a bill to protect Gov. Ron DeSantis’ travel records from public disclosure ahead of his highly anticipated 2024 presidential run.
The invoice passed in the state House of Representatives along party lines in a vote of 84 to 31, after passing in the state Senate last month. Protects the public release of DeSantis’ travel records «before, during, or after» the effective date of the measure.
The bill signals the argument by Republican lawmakers that protecting DeSantis’ travel records would ensure the safety of the Florida governor, as well as law enforcement officers and personnel providing security.
“The Legislature determines that the safety and security of persons authorized under Florida Statutes, as well as the safety and security of law enforcement officers and personnel providing security or transportation services, outweigh any public benefit that may arise from the disclosure of such records”, says the text of the bill.
«Therefore, it is a public necessity that records held by a law enforcement agency related to security or transportation services under … Florida Statutes be exempt from public records requirements,» it says. .
Florida House Democratic Caucus leader Fentrice Driskell denounced the bill’s passage, saying DeSantis «should resign as governor and go back to being a private citizen» if he doesn’t want his travel records to be made public.
“While in office, he must be open and honest about where he will go, when and who will be with him. Floridians have a right to know what their governor is doing, and that includes these travel details,» Driskell said in a statement, adding that DeSantis is the first Florida governor to make such a request.
Driskell said no Democrats supported the bill because they saw it as a «blatantly obvious» attempt by Republicans to make it easier for DeSantis to leave Florida in an effort to «raise his profile» ahead of his expected 2024 presidential campaign announcement.
He also pointed to prior public access to the travel records of former Florida Republican Gov. Jeb Bush, the brother of former President George W. Bush. “There have always been provisions to keep everyone safe, and I don’t remember anyone saying they weren’t enough,” he said.
DeSantis said Monday at a press conference for the signing of bills He did not propose the travel records measure, saying he believes it was «motivated by security concerns» for state officials.
“With the security situation, how do you do movement patterns if you are someone who is being targeted, which unfortunately I am and I get a lot of threats, that could be something that could be helpful for people who might not want to do it. good stuff,» DeSantis said.
The bill’s passage comes after the GOP-controlled Legislature last week approved changes to state law that would pave the way for DeSantis to launch a 2024 presidential campaign despite the lack of a formal announcement. The provision, which was included in a much larger election reform bill, would exempt anyone running for president or vice president from the state’s waiver law to run.
DeSantis has traveled extensively outside of Florida ahead of a slated 2024 presidential run. He recently returned from a trip to Japan, South Korea, Israel, and the United Kingdom that was funded by Enterprise Florida, a public-private state agency that focuses on attract businesses to the state, raising questions about whether at least some of the taxpayer money was used. to pay for the trip.