Will DeSantis Bring Culture Of Secrecy To White House, Ask Experts As Florida's New Legal Exceptions Spark Worry

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is contesting in the Republic presidential primary race, has been panned for the secrecy that shrouds his administration in the Sunshine State.

What Happened: DeSantis' administration has routinely withheld the release of public records in the four years that the governor has been in office in Florida, NBC News reported.

More importantly, the state has approved new legal exceptions that allowed keeping more information out of the public view and it has also legally challenged open-government advocates, the press and other watchdogs, the report said.

DeSantis is the only Florida governor who has used "executive privilege" to keep records hidden, said transparency advocates and experts, NBC News said.

A 2023 legal exemption approved by the governor allows him to keep his travel records secret. He also reportedly fought to hide information about some noteworthy events of his tenure, including COVID-19 infection data and data regarding his controversial relocation of migrants to Martha's Vineyard.

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Why It's Important: Open government advocates are alarmed by DeSantis' transparency track record and they worry about the governor carrying over the same ethos to the White House if he wins the 2024 election, the report said.

“It's stunning, the amount of material that has been taken off the table from a state that many have considered to be the most transparent. We've quickly become one of the least transparent in the space of four years,” said Michael Barfield, director of public access for the Florida Center for Government Accountability.

"Since taking office in 2019, DeSantis has repeatedly tested the letter and spirit of Florida's sunshine laws and constitutional guarantees, sometimes bypassing the Legislature in novel ways," experts say.

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