{"id":2212,"date":"2025-04-18T09:56:20","date_gmt":"2025-04-18T13:56:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/?post_type=press&p=2212"},"modified":"2025-09-15T16:00:52","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T20:00:52","slug":"hope-florida-fiasco-violates-peoples-trust-amendment-process","status":"publish","type":"press","link":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/press\/hope-florida-fiasco-violates-peoples-trust-amendment-process\/","title":{"rendered":"Hope Florida Fiasco Violates People\u2019s Trust, Amendment Process"},"template":"","class_list":["post-2212","press","type-press","status-publish","hentry","press_type-press-release"],"acf":{"details":{"summary":"Common Cause Florida is urging Floridians to reach out to their State Senator and ask them to reject SB 7016 and the Governor\u2019s agenda to gut the citizen-led amendment process","featured_image":"","press_type":149,"authors":"","related_issues":[404,405,86,105,92,402],"related_work":[170,398,400],"location":12},"sidebar":{"helper_enable_sidebar":false,"helper_media_contact":{"heading":"Media Contact","manually_enter_person":true,"person":null,"name":"Kenny Colston","role":"","phone":"","email":"kcolston@commoncause.org"},"helper_links_downloads":{"heading":"Links & Downloads","links":null}},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"Common Cause Florida is urging Floridians to reach out to their State Senator and ask them to reject SB 7016 and the Governor\u2019s agenda to gut the citizen-led amendment process. The call comes in response to increasing questions about the potential misuse of public funds to oppose amendments that were on the ballot in 2024, including <\/span>a reported<\/span><\/a> $8.5 million in public funds that may have made its way to a political committee through the nonprofit Hope Florida Foundation that supports First Lady Casey DeSantis\u2019 signature initiative.<\/span>\r\n<\/span>\r\n<\/span>The controversy centers on how taxpayer dollars from a legal settlement<\/span><\/a> regarding overbilling by a state managed care corporation, meant for Medicaid recipients, may have been funneled to a political action committee that backed the Governor\u2019s opposition to a citizen-led amendment to legalize recreational marijuana in Florida. On Tuesday, Hope Florida Foundation\u2019s chairman admitted to House legislators that the organization had made <\/span>numerous recordkeeping and other mistakes<\/span>. Then on Wednesday, Hope Florida\u2019s executive director resigned. <\/span>\r\n<\/span>\r\n<\/span>In light of growing concerns that taxpayer funds may have been misused, Common Cause Florida Executive Director Amy Keith is encouraging lawmakers to protect the citizen-led amendment process from the Governor\u2019s overreach.<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cThis week we are learning how individuals in the Governor\u2019s immediate orbit may have misused the people\u2019s funds to help kill a citizen-led amendment that <\/span>over 55% of the people of Florida supported<\/span><\/a>. At the same time, the Governor has also made it one of his top legislative priorities to make the citizen-led amendment process all but impossible for the people to use.<\/span>\r\n<\/span>\r\n<\/span>\u201cWhether you are a Republican, a Democrat, or an independent, Floridians agree that abuse of taxpayer money is wrong. And, if true, the misuse of public funds to campaign against an amendment put forward by the people of Florida is especially offensive. In light of these allegations, it is doubly concerning that the Governor and his allies are trying to silence the people\u2019s direct voice with the proposed changes to the citizen-led amendment process.<\/span>\r\n<\/span>\r\n<\/span>\u201cCommon Cause works to create an open, honest, and accountable government that serves the public interest. Misuse of public funds isn\u2019t honest or accountable, and corrupting the citizen-led amendment process certainly isn\u2019t in the public interest.\u201d<\/span>\r\n<\/span>\r\n\r\n<\/span>"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_add_component","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_add_component":null},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_work","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_work":{"heading":"Work","manually_curate":false,"work":null}}]},"yoast_head":"\nHope Florida Fiasco Violates People\u2019s Trust, Amendment Process - Common Cause Florida<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Common Cause Florida is urging Floridians to reach out to their State Senator and ask them to reject SB 7016 and the Governor\u2019s agenda to gut the citizen-led amendment process\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/press\/hope-florida-fiasco-violates-peoples-trust-amendment-process\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hope Florida Fiasco Violates People\u2019s Trust, Amendment Process\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Common Cause Florida is urging Floridians to reach out to their State Senator and ask them to reject SB 7016 and the Governor\u2019s agenda to gut the citizen-led amendment process\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/press\/hope-florida-fiasco-violates-peoples-trust-amendment-process\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Common Cause Florida\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-15T20:00:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/common-cause-share-image.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/press\/hope-florida-fiasco-violates-peoples-trust-amendment-process\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/florida\/press\/hope-florida-fiasco-violates-peoples-trust-amendment-process\/\",\"name\":\"Hope Florida Fiasco Violates People\u2019s Trust, Amendment Process - 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