Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has been recently condemned by a trio of leading bipartisan political figures for his use of taxpayer dollars to fund attacks on proposed Florida Amendments 3 and 4, which would legalize recreational use of marijuana and enshrine abortion rights in the Florida constitution.
DeSantis has reportedly spent more than $50 million dollars of state funds in advertisements against Amendment 3 and 4. Republican Sen. Joe Gruters criticized DeSantis stating that, “No matter where you stand on this issue, this is still a democracy. We do not spend taxpayer dollars in advance of a political issue. Tax dollars are meant to be spent on our police, schools, roads, and other public programs that make our state great, not political agendas.”
Gruters has had a strong stance in the Republican party, serving as Republican Party of Florida chairman from 2018 to 2022, and has served twice as co-chair of Donald Trump’s Florida campaign. “I’ve been an outspoken critic against Amendment 4, but no matter what the issue or where I stand, I fully believe that this is undemocratic and a violation of Florida laws to spend taxpayer funds on political ads. Period,” Gruters added.
Democratic Sen. Jason Pizzo filed a lawsuit earlier this month in state court alleging that the Florida Department of Transportation had improperly spent state money to combat Amendment 3. A Leon County circuit judge, however, granted a request by FDOT to dismiss the lawsuit. “There is no appropriation for FDOT to go in and spend any money on this,” Sen. Pizzo stated in an interview conducted by Smart & Safe Florida.
Sen. Pizzo outlined the $50 million in public funds used to air the partisan ads, stating, “We’re now seeing upwards of $50 million that we have data to support, $50 million to spend on this ad campaign— that’s more than half of what we spend on Visit Florida to drive tourism as our largest economic driver of the state, and this is all for the ideology and position of just a few people.”
Latest FAU polls have ranked Amendment 3 at 60% of Floridians in favor, 34% opposed, and 6% undecided. The same polls place Amendment 4 at 58% in favor, 32% opposed, and 10% undecided. In order to be enshrined in the Florida Constitution, amendments must reach a super majority of 60% in favor, of which Amendment 4 is just 2% shy of.
