Florida House unanimously passes bill in response to Hope Florida saga

Alexandra Glorioso, Miami Herald on Feb 25, 2026

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida House on Wednesday unanimously passed a bill that would prohibit the diversion of money to a third party in a state settlement— a direct response to the DeSantis administration’s maneuvering during the 2024 election.

State Rep. Alex Andrade, a Republican Pensacola lawyer who runs the House budget committee, filed the bill, HB 593. He used his committee last year to investigate how the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis secretly diverted $10 million from a $67 Medicaid settlement to the Hope Florida Foundation, with most of the money ending up in a political committee run by the governor’s chief of staff.

The Legislature was never notified of the agreement, finalized in September of 2024 as DeSantis was struggling to raise money for his campaign to defeat ballot initiatives that would have overturned the state’s six-week abortion ban and legalized recreational marijuana. Both failed despite receiving support from a majority of voters.

After receiving the $10 million, the charity split the money between two “dark money” nonprofits that aren’t required to disclose their donors. Those groups then gave most of the money to a political committee controlled by DeSantis’ chief of staff, James Uthmeier, whom the governor later appointed as attorney general. Uthmeier has denied wrongdoing and claimed victory in defeating the amendments. He has defended the ability to coordinate with outside groups while serving in the government.

“The state was victorious,” Uthmeier told reporters earlier this month. “So, at the end of the day, I think it’s a good result.”

Uthmeier has never answered questions directly about his involvement in overseeing the transactions, citing an ongoing grand jury deliberation on whether crimes were committed. In his final committee meeting about Hope Florida last April, Andrade accused Uthmeier and the charity’s attorney, Jeff Aaron, of engaging “in a conspiracy to commit money laundering and wire fraud.”

Andrade’s bill would make the diversion of the funds to a third party in a state settlement “an official definitive crime against the state,” he said Wednesday before its passage. The bill requires the Legislature to get notice of settlements. It would go into effect in July and isn’t retroactive.

“We have public officials who don’t feel obligated to act transparently, and don’t have any concerns about shaving funds owed to the state off the top, and then diverting them to their own intended uses,” Andrade said. “If we don’t know what statewide settlements are happening on a day-to-day basis, I feel like that’s a significant vulnerability.”

The bill would also prohibit someone from using their official capacity to politically fundraise. Andrade said that provision was in a similar bill last year, meaning it wasn’t related to his Hope Florida probe, which began after the Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times reported on issues with the program and charity last March.

Andrade is in his final year in office due to term limits. He acknowledged the Senate doesn’t seem interested in passing the bill in its chamber, where similar legislation has never been heard. The Senate president and DeSantis are political allies while the House speaker is estranged after Andrade’s investigation into the Hope Florida saga and conflicts about how best to cut taxes.

“This legislation is absolutely necessary,” Andrade said. “If it is not passed in both chambers this year, my hope is that it comes back next year, because it’s a concern.”

House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, a Tampa Democrat, thanked Andrade for his “good bill,” particularly the provision that would require agencies to notify legislative leaders, like her, of a settlement, in writing, 10 days after it is signed.

“When I became aware of Hope Florida, I went back through my records, because actually, as minority leader, I’m entitled to receive notification of settlements with the state,” Driskell said. “But there was none, and there has been no accountability for that.”

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