Gov. DeSantis signs bill that keeps his travel records secret
TALLAHASSEE - Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday signed 37 bills, including a measure that will prevent the release of past and future travel records of DeSantis and other state leaders.
The Republican-controlled Legislature voted along party lines to pass a bill (SB 1616) that provides a public-records exemption for travel records of DeSantis, the governor's immediate family, the lieutenant governor, Cabinet members, the House speaker, the Senate president, and the chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court.
Democrats said the exemption would go beyond travel itineraries and also prevent the release of information about where the governor went and who attended meetings and events. Republicans countered the measure would help with security, as it would prevent people from being able to map out the travel plans of DeSantis and other officials.
During an appearance last week in Titusville, DeSantis said he didn't "come up" with the travel records proposal.
"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," DeSantis said.
Anders Croy, communications director of a DeSantis opposition group, DeSantis Watch, said in a Twitter post on Thursday that the bill was signed a day before DeSantis begins "political trips to Illinois (and) Iowa, (and) amid reports of upcoming donor dinners at the Governor's Mansion." DeSantis has been traveling across the country as he prepares for a potential 2024 presidential campaign.