TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The price tag to keep Gov. Ron DeSantis safe more than doubled over the last year, according to a report released on Tuesday by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
The Transportation and Protective Services Report is released each year to report how much the law enforcement agency pays to transport and protect the governor and his family.
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The report details activities from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023.
According to the report, Florida taxpayers paid more than $5 million over that time period to pay salaries and transportation for DeSantis’ security detail.
That’s an increase from $2.3 million a year ago.
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During that time, DeSantis has flown to key electoral states both before and after officially announcing his intention to run for president.
FDLE traditionally supplies his security detail for those trips.
He campaigned for his re-election as governor, and he also responded to Southwest Florida and Central Florida in the wake of hurricanes Ian and Nicole.
The report showed FDLE paid $3 million over the time period to transport the governor — an increase of 27% from last year.
DeSantis’s presidential campaign has used its own money to charter flights to transport him to campaign stops across the country, although News 6 tracked FDLE’s state-owned plane to a campaign stop over the Independence Day weekend.,
FDLE said the flight was part of an investigation and was used for pilots to get their flight hours.
The FDLE report shows security spending for First Lady Casey DeSantis fell 8%, while her transportation costs rose 7%.
For the DeSantis family as a whole, security spending rose 99% year over year from $19,582 last year to $113,623 this year.
The annual report comes on the heels of new rules shielding much of the governor’s travel records from Florida residents.
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