Group, known as Florida Freedom Fund, launched in May and will also be involved in school board races

Group, known as Florida Freedom Fund, launched in May and will also be involved in school board races

The Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, has launched a political action committee that is targeting popular ballot amendments on abortion access and marijuana legalization that will be voted on in November.

The group, known as the Florida Freedom Fund, launched in May, Politico first reported. The committee is chaired by James Uthmeier, DeSantis’s chief of staff who was previously the Republican’s campaign manager during his unsuccessful presidential primary run.

In addition to targeting ballot initiatives, the committee will get involved in school board races, Politico reported, citing an individual who is familiar with the group’s plans.

Florida Republicans have attempted to maximize their political control of local school boards, especially amid book bans and far-right education laws banning discussions of race and sexual identity being passed in the state, WUFT reported.

  • Phegan@lemmy.world
    2·
    6 months ago

    I guess I should rephrase slightly. Public employees are not allowed to take gifts / money from individuals in any capacity, this relates to bribe and corruption laws. As a result, this makes it so they can not accept campaign finance donations, which requires an entity to act on their behalf, a PAC. Sorry if my explanation was a bit unclear. This is due to blanket corruption laws and not specific campaign finance laws.

    • IamSparticlesEnglish
      2·
      6 months ago

      Ah, I think I understand. The potential problem here is that even a donation to a campaign fund could be seen as a bribe if the person running for office is a public official. “Sorry, I can’t accept your generous gift, but you cold contribute to my campaign for mayor!” Interesting, I’ve honestly never run across that info, but it makes sense. Thanks!