The Florida Senate has voted to renew a fund that has given Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration billions of dollars in recent years to respond to emergencies.
Or, as Democrats argue, what the administration questionably calls emergencies. They object to his spending justifications, especially related to immigration enforcement, and say more guardrails are needed on the money.
“So much of the spending is wrong,” said Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando. “So much of the spending is excessive, bloating spending.”
The bill, SB 7040, passed on Wednesday with most Democrats voting against.
Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, said the state needs to stay prepared.
“The goal is to get the trust fund reinstated so that we don't find ourselves in some kind of forced jeopardy in the future with what may happen this summer,” Albritton said.
Lawmakers created the Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund in 2022 and have put nearly $5 billion in it. It's used for disasters, hurricanes and immigration enforcement.
It’s set to expire next week if the Legislature doesn’t intervene. But the House hasn’t touched its version of the measure, HB 941.
In a press conference after the vote, a reporter asked Albritton if urgency was necessary, since the Legislature was in session for another month and could appropriate emergency funds if something happens in that time frame. Hurricane season doesn’t start until June 1.
“A deadline is a deadline, right?” Albritton responded. “We believe being proactive is the right thing to do, and being prepared for what may come in the future, from an emergency management standpoint, makes sense.”
The legislation extends the fund until the end of 2027. Albritton said if lawmakers in future sessions believe changes are needed, “there’s still ample time for them to have plenty of conversation about how this process is working.”
For Democrats, that’s not soon enough. They filed an amendment on the floor that would’ve added guardrails, but the GOP supermajority rejected it.
“We all know that the fund has been used for purposes it shouldn't be used for and that we need to have oversight,” said Senate Democratic Leader Lori Berman of Delray Beach. “This was the bare minimum.”
Democrats are also frustrated with how DeSantis has repeatedly extended a state of emergency order on immigration since 2023.
Over that time, his administration has spent nearly $600 million on immigration enforcement, including on the "Alligator Alcatraz" detention facility in the Everglades.
The largest chunk of that was spent over the last half year, according to the Florida Phoenix. It reported thousands of dollars went to various restaurants, including around $1,200 to Bumpa’s Sports Bar in Tallahassee, and nearly a half-million dollars to a private jet company.
More than $92 million went to a porta-potty company.
Democrats mentioned those things on Wednesday, which Albritton later pushed back on.
“In the beginning, there was a lot of concern and outcry over what the environmental impacts would be for that,” he said, referring to the Everglades facility. “I would applaud the system as a whole for responding to that.”
He continued: “It's more than just porta-potties, right? You are moving waste off of that facility. You're doing it in a secure and safe way, and then you're also having to dispose of that.”
DeSantis said a portion of the money that went to the immigration detention centers would be reimbursed by the federal government, but recent statements by federal attorneys indicate it may back out.
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This story was produced by WUSF as part of a statewide journalism initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
