Pensacola state lawmaker Alex Andrade has been tasked with investigating how $10 million ended up in a charity created by Governor DeSantis’s wife.
DETAILS
A recent investigation by the Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau has uncovered serious questions about a $10 million settlement that was directed to the Hope Florida Foundation, a charity connected to Casey DeSantis’ welfare initiative.
- This substantial influx of funds came from an undisclosed settlement involving Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA). Under Florida law, such settlement funds would typically need to be deposited into a state trust or the general revenue fund, where lawmakers would determine their allocation. However, a state spokesperson claimed this law doesn’t apply because “this money was not paid to the state,” without providing further details.
BACKGROUND: The Hope Florida Foundation was established to support Casey DeSantis’ Hope Florida program, which aims to transition people away from government assistance by connecting them with faith-based organizations and nonprofits as an alternative to traditional welfare systems.
The foundation has recently faced scrutiny regarding its compliance with oversight, ethics, and fundraising laws. Despite IRS requirements for immediate public access to nonprofit documents, reporters investigating the matter were told their request “will be returned in the order it was received” and were asked to leave. The foundation has not publicly disclosed either its donors or recipient organizations.
- When I interviewed Rep. Andrade for Inweekly’s mid-session update, he mentioned the compliance issues in passing: “There’s a story that’s kind of brewing right now related to Hope Florida and some of the strong-arm tactics that the governor’s office has used to force state vendors to donate to Hope Florida. I’m looking into it.”
UNREPORTED SETTLEMENT
Meeting minutes from October revealed the $10 million allocation resulted from “the resolution of a longstanding dispute” with AHCA, though the nature of this dispute remains unclear. Notably, the settlement is absent from AHCA’s online database.
According to the Miami Herald, Rep. Alex Andrade, who oversees AHCA’s budget, expressed uncertainty about Hope Florida’s mission, stating, “Without details and transparency, I can’t say if this transfer was done for a proper purpose or not.”
- As Governor DeSantis pushes for Hope Florida to be enshrined in state law, these developments raise important questions about the foundation’s operations and its potential connection to Casey DeSantis’ future political aspirations.
April 10, 2025 Cover
Three Northwest Florida delegates are making their mark in Tallahassee with distinct approaches. Rep. Michelle Salzman champions controversial gun rights and social media regulation bills, while outspoken Rep. Alex Andrade has publicly criticized Governor DeSantis’s property tax proposal as “smacking of socialism.”
Meanwhile, former Senate President Don Gaetz leverages his experience to tackle insurance industry corruption, though his bills regulating insurance and power companies failed to gain traction. Despite their different styles, these lawmakers have found success working together on initiatives like granting autonomy to the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition.
The issue goes live at 11 a.m. on Inweekly.net.
