TALLAHASSEE – As Gov. Ron DeSantis geared up his presidential marketing campaign, taxpayer prices to transportation and protect the governor and his spouse and children surged during the past fiscal calendar year, according to a new condition report.
Florida spent far more than $9.876 million all through the 2022-2023 fiscal year on defending and transporting the DeSantis family members and viewing officials, according to the Florida Section of Legislation Enforcement’s once-a-year “Report of Transportation and Protective Services.”
That was up from $6.097 million through the 2021-2022 fiscal year, which by itself was a 25 p.c boost from the 2020-2021 fiscal 12 months.
About $9.4 million of the fees in the 2022-2023 fiscal 12 months, which finished June 30, went to guarding and transporting DeSantis and his relatives and defending the governor’s mansion in Tallahassee. That complete also will not include normal shell out for Capitol police officers.
The greatest price tag raises included the governor, with $5 million likely towards salaries of law-enforcement officers who presented stability for him and $3.04 million for fees tied to transportation.
DeSantis formally introduced his presidential bid Could 24, but he put in chunks of the yr touring the place, together with to market his reserve “The Bravery to Be Free of charge: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival.”
During the 2021-2022 fiscal 12 months, $2.375 million went towards law-enforcement fork out for guarding DeSantis and $2.391 million was tied to transportation.
Expenses for protecting Very first Lady Casey DeSantis and other customers of the relatives all through the 2022-2023 fiscal year came to $792,764, including $78,382 tied to transportation. Those expenses totaled $777,000 the earlier 12 months.
The governor and 1st woman have a few youthful little ones.
All through the 2022-2023 fiscal year, one more $552,491 went into standard security about the governor’s mansion. The whole was up from $399,098 in the prior fiscal 12 months.
The once-a-year report is the very first given that the Republican-controlled Legislature this 12 months handed a monthly bill (SB 1616) that shields previous and future travel information of the governor and other condition leaders. People protected by the legislation contain the governor’s instant relatives, the lieutenant governor, Cabinet users, the Property speaker, the Senate president and the main justice of the Florida Supreme Court docket.
The measure also makes it possible for maintaining from the general public the names of men and women viewing the governor’s mansion on non-governmental issues.
But the 7-site once-a-year report unveiled Tuesday by the Florida Section of Regulation Enforcement provided general expenditures for the DeSantis household and detailed safety-relevant charges for browsing dignitaries.
As in earlier years, the report isn’t going to define how safety aspects ended up staffed or how they operated.
Prices integrated 97 individual protective information for individuals outdoors the initially relatives during the 2022-2023 fiscal calendar year. People protecting facts price $457,242, up from 74 aspects in the earlier fiscal yr that totaled $154,095.
Among the largest charges for going to dignitaries was a $117,053 value tag associated to DeSantis’ inauguration in January. Also, the state confronted protection fees for folks attending a Republican Governors Association conference in November in Orlando.
Exterior the inauguration and the Republican Governors Association celebration, income went to supplying security for 70 visits to Florida by governors from 34 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Also, the FDLE indicated $964 was spent on security when DeSantis fulfilled in Tallahassee with Paraguay’s then-President Mario Abdo Benitez on Jan. 27.
A March 7 assembly in Tallahassee concerning DeSantis and Hungary President Katalin Novak drew a $275 cost for the FDLE.
The report pointed out $11,891 was furnished in security and transportation for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist on the Nov. 8 election day.
Another $7,874 was put in in January when Vice President Kamala Harris visited Tallahassee to communicate on the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade abortion final decision.
