Unaddressed Ethics Orders Piling High on Governor Ron DeSantis' Desk

Written by Kristen Schmutz

The Florida Commission of Ethics surely is not happy with Governor Ron DeSantis, and his negligence in reviewing and finalizing over 30 Ethic Order cases that have been piling up on his desk.

The Ethics Commission works with investigating complaints made against Government Officials to see if they are in Breach of Public Trust. The goal of the Commission is to recommend the penalties, while the Governor enforces them.

Among the orders are merely recommendations of Government Officials abusing their power similar to the case of Andrew Gillum, and Rick Fernandez, and Settlement Agreements (which include Admission of Violation and Acceptance of Penalty forms), all which need to be finalized by the Governor for the cases to be closed.

Based on reports from the Ethics Commission and the Office of the Governor, most of the orders were left to DeSantis, from former Governor Rick Scott, while he campaigned for U.S Senate. Of the 30 cases currently standing-by on DeSantis’ Desk, only seven are dated after he took office.

Is there a good reason the Governor hasn't addressed these issues just yet? Does he have a better solution to the Ethics problem, and that's the reason for the delay in addressing the orders?

No word yet has come from the Office of the Governor referencing this matter, even with a Request for Comment made early this week by Belden Communications News Editor Kristen Schmutz.