Florida’s GOP-led Legislature passed a bill Tuesday to shield Gov. Ron DeSantis' travel records from public disclosure ahead of his expected 2024 presidential bid.
The bill passed in the state House along party lines in an 84-31 vote after the Senate approved it last month. It would shield public disclosure of DeSantis’ travel records "before, on, or after" the date it takes effect.
The bill notes Republican legislators’ argument that shielding DeSantis’ travel records would ensure his safety, as well as that of law enforcement agents and security personnel.
“The Legislature finds that the safety and security of persons authorized protection ... under Florida Statutes, as well as the safety and security of law enforcement agents and personnel providing the security or transportation services, outweigh any public benefit that may be derived from the disclosure of such records,” the bill’s text reads.
“Therefore, it is a public necessity that records held by a law enforcement agency relating to security or transportation services under ... Florida Statures, be exempt from public records requirements,” it says.
House Democratic Caucus Leader Fentrice Driskell decried the passage of the bill, saying DeSantis “should resign as governor and go back to being a private citizen” if he does not want his travel records to be public.
“As long as he’s in office, he should be open and honest about where he’s going, when, and who is 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 have made such a request.
Driskell said no Democrat supported the bill because Democrats viewed it as a “blatantly obvious” attempt by Republicans to make it easier for DeSantis to leave Florida “to raise his profile” before his expected presidential campaign announcement.
She also pointed to previous public access to the travel records of Republican former Gov. Jeb Bush, the brother of former President George W. Bush. “There have always been provisions in place to keep everyone safe, and I cannot recall anyone ever saying they weren’t enough,” she said.
DeSantis said Monday at a news conference for bill signings that he did not propose the measure, saying he believes it was “motivated by security concerns” for state officials.
“With the security situation, how you do patterns of movements if you’re somebody that is targeted — which unfortunately I am, and I get a lot of threats — that could be something that could be helpful for people that may not want to do good things,” he said.
The GOP-controlled Legislature last week approved changes to state law that would clear the way for DeSantis to launch a presidential campaign despite the lack of a formal announcement. The provision, which was in a much larger election overhaul bill, would exempt anyone running for president or vice president from the state’s resign-to-run law.
DeSantis has traveled extensively outside Florida in advance of an expected presidential bid. 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 attracting businesses to the state, raising questions about whether at least some taxpayer money was used to pay for the trip.