Gaetz criticizes Florida attorney general over efforts to stop marijuana ballot measure

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) criticized Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier’s (R) efforts during his tenure as Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) chief of staff to stop a ballot measure that would have legalized recreational marijuana in the state.

In a post on social platform X, Gaetz referenced a column by retired Florida Supreme Court Justice Alan Lawson on the political news outlet Florida Politics, in which Lawson argues Uthmeier did not partake in any wrongdoing in using funds from a settlement between Centene, Florida’s largest Medicaid managed care provider, and the state Agency for Health Care Administration.

At question is a $10 million payment to the Hope Florida Foundation, which is tied to first lady Casey DeSantis’s welfare assistance program Hope Florida, as a part of the settlement. After receiving the funds, the foundation then made grants to the nonprofits Secure Florida’s Future and Save Our Society from Drugs. Those groups received the grant money while they were making donations to Keep Florida Clean, a political action committee headed by Uthmeier. Keep Florida Clean was involved in the fight against Amendment 3, which would have legalized recreational marijuana in the state.

Lawson argued in the column that nothing about Uthmeier’s actions or conduct during the campaign against Amendment 3 was “illegal or even.




https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5254800-florida-matt-gatez-criticizes-james-uthmeier/