Jun 7, 2022
Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, the office of Governor Ron DeSantis canceled the upcoming June 28th meeting of the Florida Cabinet and the June 29th meeting of the Board of Executive Clemency. No reason for the cancellations was provided in the notice from the Governor’s office, which has frequently cancelled these meetings necessary to conduct state business over the past two years and only put forward four meeting dates for 2022. In response, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried, an independently-elected member of the Florida Cabinet and the Board of Executive Clemency, issued the following statement:
“As if only scheduling four total meetings this year of the Cabinet and Clemency Board to conduct important state business and giving Floridians who have waited years an opportunity for a second chance wasn’t insulting enough, the Governor has now cancelled the second of those scheduled meetings that were to be held at the end of the month. While not surprising given the number of Cabinet and Clemency Board meetings cancelled without cause by Governor DeSantis over the years, his continued unwillingness to do his job and focus on the urgent challenges facing our state is an insult to the people of Florida. But maybe he can use this new-found free time on those days to implement the much-needed gas tax break now to help Floridians instead of waiting until October on the eve of the election.”
Florida is “historically unique among the 50 states in America” with “a Cabinet consisting of three constitutionally elected state executives” that are “elected by the people and serve as a collective decision and rule making body for the state” and with “equal footing with the Governor on matters that come before the Governor and Cabinet.”
