TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida lawmakers are preparing to return to Tallahassee, where they will decide how much money will be spent defending lawsuits challenging some laws they passed last legislative session.
News 6 counted 14 lawsuits that have been filed since the last legislative session asking the courts to decide whether new laws are constitutional.
The new laws being questioned include those governing voter rights, education, transitional hormone treatments for minors, the use of pronouns, diversity equity and inclusion rules, drag performances and more.
During a recent meeting of the Florida House Appropriations Committee, Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell expressed her concern about how much money was being spent to defend these laws in court.
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“How much money is in the budget for litigation defense on behalf of the state where we’re dealing with constitutionality, challenges to some of these laws that have passed?” she asked a representative from the governor’s office. “I think I’ve noticed a trend over the years where this budget is increasing, so can you tell me how much is in the budget for the 2023 session?”
“Some of it is appropriated specifically for litigation support and outside counsel,” said Chris Spencer from the Governor’s Office of Budget and Policy. “Some of it is just contained within a contracted services category for an agency.”
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The governor’s request
News 6 investigated Gov. Ron DeSantis’ budget proposal, entitled Focus on Florida’s Future, and found his office is asking the legislature for roughly $19 million to fight these lawsuits, and possibly others.
That is a 36 percent increase over last year’s request, according to the budget proposal.
Specifically, DeSantis is asking for a 285 percent increase in litigation spending for the Department of State -- $5 million total – to fight lawsuits over voter rights.
“The Governor’s Budget Recommendation for Fiscal Year 2024-25 includes $5,000,000 in nonrecurring General Revenue for litigation expenses to acquire legal representation for lawsuits related to elections and other department litigation,” the proposal read.
He is also asking that his office – the Executive Office of the Governor – receive $4 million to fight lawsuits he is specifically named in.
“The department has legal staff and resources to handle ongoing lawsuits. However, in recent years, the department has been involved in a large number of time-sensitive, short-deadline cases, and the resources required to effectively handle the litigation duties have necessitated hiring outside counsel,” the proposal read.
The Department of Education would receive $5 million to fight their lawsuits.
“The department has had a significant increase in the number of cases it has had to address,” the proposal read. “This initiative will provide the funds needed to address the legal costs.”
These requests come after similar increases approved in last year’s budget.
That is when a News 6 investigation revealed the governor requested a 250% increase in his office’s budget to fight lawsuits.
“This is what brought him to public attention – the war with Disney, the war on ‘Don’t Say Gay,’ as it’s called,” said News 6 Political Analyst and UCF History Professor Jim Clark.
Clark said no governor in Florida history has ever asked for so much money to defend new laws.
“It helps (politicians) politically. They can raise money on this,” he said. “They can go to their constituents and say, ‘Look what I got passed.’”
The governor’s office did not respond to News 6′s request for a comment.
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