Democrats demand info on emergency spending as DeSantis administration drags feet

Florida Democrats are demanding the state’s emergency managers explain how they’ve spent nearly a billiondollars in disaster money and why they’re 41 days late on a new report detailing those tabs.

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“This is not a complicated request,” Orlando Rep. Anna Eskamani said in aTuesday news release. “We are in the peak weeks of hurricane season and neither (legislative) chamber can say with confidence what is left in the fund Florida depends on when a storm hits.”

Eskamani joined 11 other current and former state lawmakers, including Angie Nixon — the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate — in sending a letter with a tothe Florida Division of Emergency Management, the agency tasked with disaster response and, more recently, immigration activities.

The agency — whosedirector resignedlast week after joining Lt. Gov. Jay Collins’ gubernatorial campaign as his running mate without telling Gov. Ron DeSantis — has blown past the July 15 deadlinerequired in statute to explain how it’s been using Florida’s emergency fund.

That report must project how much money will be left in the fund at the end of the year, detail its cash flow, list all current and pending purchases and provide updates on federal reimbursements.

This includes explaining the $566 million spentlast fiscal year on immigration enforcementthat inspired the Legislature in March to approve a bipartisan law mandating quarterly reports.

Immigration accounted for more than two-thirds of all emergency spending last year.

Spokespeople for the House and Senate confirmed to the Herald/Times that as of Monday, they still had not received the report.

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A Florida Division of Emergency Management spokesperson did not respond to a text message requesting commentlate Tuesday.

In their letter, the Democrats clarified that while they don’t blame the new director, Jared Perdue, for “decisions that were not yours,” they expect him to have his new agency:

• Provide the report

• Explain the delay

• Detail all expected and owed payments to vendors

• Confirm they’ll provide the next report, due Sept. 30

• And list all requested federal reimbursements

The Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund is a pool initially created in 2022 at DeSantis’ requestto quickly pay for disastersand other emergencies like hurricanes.

In 2023, DeSantis declared a state of emergency on immigration — one he’s renewed at least 20 times since — allowing the money to be used on immigration enforcement.

That includes spending money on two state-run immigration detention centers that it namedAlligator Alcatraz and Deportation Depot.

The state still owes roughly $480 million to the contractors who built, ran and managed the centers, according to a Times/Herald analysis.

According to state records, Florida officials have also agreed to spend at least $167 million on the endeavor this year. They’ve so far received $84 million of $608 million in promised federal immigration reimbursements.

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