The Florida Roundup - Charity Hope Florida under scrutiny, how Florida and California tackle troubled insurance markets, FSU shooting and legislative updates 

Episode Date: April 18, 2025

This week on The Florida Roundup, we spoke with Rep. Alex Andrade, the Republican lawmaker leading the House probe into Hope Florida (01:36) and then turned to Alexandra Glorioso, reporter for the Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau, for further analysis (14:38). Then, we checked back in with our Bay Area colleagues at Forum, KQED's live call-in program, for cross-continent conversation about the high costs of homeowners insurance (19:14). Plus, updates from the mass shooting at Florida State University (37:20) and legislative news from the week with WUSF’s Douglas Soule (39:36).

This is the Florida Roundup. I'm Tom Hudson. Thanks for being with us this week. This was supposed to be the second to last Friday of classes at Florida State University, but there are no classes today. Just before noon Thursday, a 20-year-old student allegedly shot and killed two people. Five others were shot and hurt. A sixth person was injured while fleeing the gunfire. The alleged gunman was shot by police and taken into custody. He's the son of a Leon County Sheriff's deputy and used his mom's former service revolver. Students and others are back on campus today collecting their backpacks and bags and other stuff left behind in the chaos and terror. We'll have more on the shooting in the aftermath later on in this program. In about 20 minutes we'll connect with

colleagues in San Francisco for a simulcast program here in Florida and in Northern California. Homeowners in both states are dealing with a tough property insurance market. It's hurricanes here, wildfires there, and while rate increases have slowed a lot here in the Sunshine State, folks in the Golden State of California homeowners there, they're facing big premium increases. So we'll have a cross-continent conversation and we want to hear from homeowners here. What do you want Californians to know about your home insurance experience? How have premiums impacted your budget? Call now 305-995-1800, 305-995-1800, or email radio at thefloridaroundup.org.

First, the scandal that is engulfing a charity and Governor Ron DeSantis' administration. Alex Andrade is a Republican representative from Pensacola. He believes the top law enforcement officer in the state committed fraud and money laundering while serving as the governor's chief of staff. Serious accusation and significant escalation in the investigation into HOPE Florida. HOPE Florida was started by the governor's wife, Casey DeSantis, a few years ago. Its mission is to connect low-income Floridians with resources to help, resources that are not from government sources. Hope Florida is a not-for-profit charitable organization, but it hadn't filed some paperwork required by that status until Thursday. The charity's executive director quit this week,

as did one of its board members. The charity is at the center of an investigation into $10 million from a legal settlement between the state of Florida and Centene. That's a company that's the largest operator of Medicaid managed care organizations in the state. The state negotiated a deal with the company to wrap up a lawsuit about overpayments. As part of that agreement, Hope Florida received 10 million dollars. Two other nonprofits requested half that money from Hope Florida. The money was sent and then

given to a political action committee controlled by James Uthmeyer, who was the chief of staff for Governor DeSantis. Today, Uthmeyer is Florida's Attorney General. The political action committee spent the money to fight Amendment 3 last fall. That was the proposal to make marijuana legal for recreational use. The probe into Hope, Florida and this 10 million dollars has been led by Alex Andrade. He is a Republican from Pensacola in his fourth and last term in the Florida House. Do you believe Hope Florida has been operating as a lawful nonprofit in the state of Florida?

No, I think that was completely established this week by the fact that they don't have any of their proper documentation done then on their conflicts of interest done. Do you think that there ought to be criminal or civil charges against the board of directors? No, not at this moment. Although I do believe that the board directors for the Hope Floor Foundation have been defrauded. And unfortunately, in this circumstance, I believe they've been defra steps as fiduciaries responsible for this board to try and recoup the two five million dollar grants that were improperly distributed to two organizations that use that money for political purposes and gave that money to James Uthmeyer's PAC. now the current attorney general of the state of Florida. He was the chief of staff of governor DeSantis at the time.

If you believe that hope Florida was the victim of fraud, who or what was the perpetrator? James Uthmeyer and Jeff Aaron. And this is what is, is so concerning is James Uthmeyer. When he's the chief of staff for governor DeSantis, he involved himself in a settlement agreement with Centene, a large medical aid and managed care company, involved himself in the settlement, directed $10 million to go to the Hope Florida Foundation, and then he personally immediately reached out to these two other organizations, told

them to ask each for $5 million grants, And the second those $5 million grants were wired to these two other organizations, they immediately sent it to James Uthmeyer's PAC. This is a misuse of Medicaid dollars, a misuse of taxpayer dollars. I believe it's money laundering and wire fraud. What is the fraud here? Who was defrauded? Well, the Hope Florida Foundation was defrauded when they were told by these two entities that they were not going to use this money for political purposes.

And specifically, Josh, the chair of the board for the Florida Foundation was defrauded by Jeff Aaron, his lawyer. When Jeff Aaron told him it was perfectly okay to wire these two $5 million grants without any sign off from DCF. DCF, the Department of Children and Families here in Florida. Yes, sir. So these two grants are the only two grants in the history of the Hope Florida Foundation that did not have memos drafted analyzing the request by DCF and did not require a board vote before distributing.

At least that's according to Josh Hay. So the fact that Jeff Aaron, the lawyer, was telling Josh Hay to do this while at the same time coordinating with the two groups who received that money is another example of the fraud that occurred in this case. So it sounds like you've gone well beyond how you described these financial transactions even earlier this week as probably illegal. You said flatly here you think that the now attorney general of Florida committed fraud in this case. Yes, sir.

You've asked the attorney general of the United States to investigate. Have you gotten a response? Well, I haven't contacted her directly. I don't believe tagging her on Twitter means I'm contacting her. I do know that federal authorities are looking at this. I don't know if

they will indict or actually open up an investigation or not. However, this absolutely meets all the elements of wire fraud and money laundering on the part of James Boothmire and Jeff Aaron. And these are criminal charges in your estimation. Is that accurate? Yes. You believe that a crime was committed by the current attorney general of the state of Florida? Yes. You believe that a crime was committed by the current attorney general of the state of Florida. Yes. While he was chief of staff of the governor of the state of Florida. Yes.

Very serious accusations here, representative, as I'm sure is not lost on you. Well, I wasn't comfortable making those until I received the text messages from Save Our Society from Drugs where James Uthmeyer personally reached out to them and told them to ask for this money, then connected them with the governor's personal attorney and Hope Florida's attorney, Jeff Aaron, who told them how to use a letter as a template and then assisted them in requesting this money

from Hope Florida. And Jeff Aaron told Josh Hay to make the wire transfer without any prior oversight or prior authorization. And then Jeff Aaron went so far as to follow up with Save Our Society and check up on whether or not they'd received the wire transfer. The day after in text, Save Our Society confirmed they'd received the wire transfer and texted that to Jeff Aaron. Save Our Society sent money to James Uthmeyer's PAC. James Uthmeyer, our Attorney General and former Chief of Staff, knew that this was Medicaid money that was sent to the Hope Florida Foundation, knew that he had told these two groups to

ask for this money. So when he received this money to his PAC, if he was acting above board and he was not acting in bad faith, he would have immediately raised his own alarms and red flags. He did not. Instead, he used that money for the political purposes of fighting against Amendment 3, giving that money to Governor DeSantis' PAC, the Keep Florida Free Fund, and using it for other purposes. Some argue that the settlement money is not tax money, but came from a private company, Centene, that was doing business with the state of Florida. If that is true, does that change your estimation about your accusation, your thinking that there's fraud and money laundering committed here?

Well, you're posing a hypothetical that's not the reality. The reality is that the 57 million that ACA actually did receive, the Agency for Healthcare Administration, they treated it like Medicaid money. They accounted for it, and they actually remitted the federal portion

back to the federal government. Had they received 67 million, they would have done the same thing. I don't believe that there was necessarily something illegal. I think it was all criminal. I do believe it was illegal to steer 10 million to the Hope Florida Foundation. I believe that was against the law and it was a policy decision that was made that was poor on the part of ACA. What makes it criminal is that James Uthmeyer orchestrated that in order to get

this money funneled into his pack. The political action committee. That's where you believe the crime was committed here? Yes. James Uthmeyer was involved every step of the way as this money made its way from Centine as part of a Medicaid settlement, a Medicaid claim settlement. He followed the money everywhere from at every point from there to the point where he received it in his PAC. Will you subpoena the current Attorney General Uthmeyer? We've sent requests today for significant amounts of documents, including all drafts of this settlement agreement to pinpoint the precise state the idea of sending this money to Hope Florida Foundation actually occurred. And if he doesn't participate, yes, I do anticipate subpoenaing. And do you anticipate

the timeline for that to happen before the end of the regular legislative session in two weeks? Yes. Have you been contacted by any state investigators or prosecutors? No, and I wouldn't necessarily expect to be. Usually when a law enforcement investigation begins, they don't tip their hand and let folks know. I'm obviously very public facing in this and I'm addressing this as a policymaker, as a legislator in these committees. However, based on every piece of information that I have, I would be shocked if a law

enforcement agency is not already investigating what occurred. The first lady, Casey DeSantis, started Hope, Florida, and the governor said that this story is all designed to hurt his wife's political ambitions, as she is rumored to be interested in possibly running for governor next year. The governor has called all this a hoax. What's your response? I could not care less if Casey DeSantis wants to run for office. I don't see how she was personally involved in any of this. If I can identify, if I would identify two bad guys in all of this, it would be Jeff

Aaron and James Uthmeyer. It's just, it really is a pure coincidence that Casey wants to take credit for everything the Hope Florida Foundation has done. That's neither here nor there to me. I don't see where she was involved directly. You have a hearing in your subcommittee scheduled for next week, I believe. Is that accurate? Yes, sir.

We haven't determined the day yet, but we will have another meeting next week. Give us a sense of who might be on that witness list. Yeah, we'll be inviting Jeff Aaron, the attorney that I mentioned, Governor Santos's personal attorney, and also the lawyer for the Hope Florida Foundation. We'll also invite Mark Wilson, the president of the Florida Chamber of Commerce,

who is also the president of Secure Florida's Future, one of the two groups that submitted these fraudulent requests for $5 million. And also Amy Rosenhausen of Save Our Society from Drugs, which is a 501c4 associated with Drug Free America, who was the other individual who made this request. The one difference between Mark Wilson and Amy Rosenhausen is that Amy, it appears, she was misled about what she could use this money for. She was misled by Jeff Aaron and James Uthmeyer about the legalities of what occurred. About

whether or not this money could be used for a political candidate versus a political advocacy position. Is that accurate? She was instructed to use the Chamber's letter as a template for her own letter and so that's why I believe that distinction was made in there. Regardless, it is illegal to use 501c3 money for campaign purposes, any type, to make electionary to purchase electioneering communications at all. It's improper, it's illegal, it's against IRS regulations. So I believe that she was misled because I believe that that organization, unlike the Chamber 501C4, was acting in a manner that they thought was perfectly appropriate.

Might there be evidence or testimony that would change your opinion about whether fraud and money laundering has occurred here, as you've stated today? There's always the possibility. However, the facts that have been definitively established at this point meet all of the elements of money laundering and wire fraud. Is James Uthmeyer appropriate to serve as the top prosecutor in the state of Florida today? No, I like to believe that if Governor DeSantis was fully aware of what James Uthmeyer did last September in October, he would not have appointed him to be attorney general. He is attorney general. Ought the governor take action? I believe that if Governor DeSantis wants to

show the Floridians that he doesn't treat taxpayer dollars like his own personal piggy bank and doesn't believe that he's above the law and above the rules, he should. I don't know if he will. What would be your recommendation regarding Uthmeyer's position as the Attorney General? I believe that he should move to attempt to remove James Uthmeyer from the Attorney General position. Thank you for your time today. Appreciate it. Thank you. That's Republican Representative Alex Andrade. We reached out to the Attorney General, James Uthmeyer. His office referred us to a statement he made on Monday.

Hope Florida didn't do anything wrong. I'm proud of the work they do. These other nonprofit organizations that have helped against the Amendment 3 effort, we should be thankful to them, to all of them. Hope Florida Foundation's lawyer, Jeff Aaron, did not return our message for a comment in time for the broadcast. Alexander Glorioso has been reporting on this from day one. She is state government reporter for the Miami Herald, Tampa Bay Times and is with us. Alexandra, welcome back to the program. Nice to have you. Hi, thank you for having me. I'm happy to be here.

Yeah. What do you make of the representative saying that the now attorney general and the lawyer for Hope Florida committed in his term fraud and money laundering? Well, this is something that we're still reporting. You know, hopefully, we'll have some more definitive answers on this soon. He has been saying that he has been saying that in his committee that it appears that this is a conspiracy to, you know, divert Medicaid money to political purposes. I think the fact that this is Medicaid money, I heard your interview with him about that,

but I'm having to talk about it more. But I think the fact that this is Medicaid money makes it potentially hairier for the administration. Yeah. Describe Hope, Florida. Where does it get its money? So, there are two different Hope, hope Florida is one is a state program. It's kind of vague, but it's centered in DCF, the Department of Children and Families.

And its intention is to connect people who are low income and need government aid or believe they need government aid with outside resources to divert them from government aid. And to also connect people who are on government aid with outside resources to get them off government aid. And then there's the Hope Florida Foundation, which is a state sanctioned charity that is supposed to be supporting DCF in its mission. And in this case, that mission is Hope, Florida.

And so how successful has Hope, Florida been, either one, in its mission? Well, we wrote, you know, this past week about how, you know, they claim they've gotten 30,000 people off of government assistance. And there's really no evidence that they've done that. And they use this kind of convoluted formula where it's like, if somebody comes for government assistance one month and they get diverted, they subtract that. You know, it's like they subtract that from the benefits they would have gotten that month. But can you say that's a person off government assistance? So it's kind of convoluted as to whether they're really getting 30,000 people off of government assistance or are they just diverting 30,000 people, you know, one time, two times, three

times, who knows? Like, there's just no real details about how this program is working. And you know, I realize I didn't answer full your other question about who's paying for it. I mean, the foundation part of this is supported by private companies. And we finally got their 990s, which they've not been filing. They've not been filing any of their document.

That's the IRS filing required for a nonprofit. Yeah, they've not been filing any of their document. That's the IRS filing required for a nonprofit. Yeah, they've not been filing their documentation. So the press and the public got this, I think, yesterday, the day before. The days are kind of running together. But we've contacted the people that are the companies that have donated, and it's kind of like a who's who of state contractors. And the way that the Department, the Agency for Healthcare Administration Secretary described it in a hearing recently

in Representative Andrade's committee is that this is part of the deal. These insurance companies and the Medicaid program, they donate also to the Hope Florida Foundation to support the program of Hope Florida, which is to get people off of Medicaid or off of government assistance. More to come. As we mentioned, there's more hearings next week. And Alexandra, we will look forward to more reporting from you as well. Thanks for being with us today on the program. Thanks so much for having

me. Alexandra Glorioso, State Government Reporter for the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times. Still to come on the roundup here, we're going to hook up with a live program in San Francisco as California and Florida homeowners share a high cost of home insurance. There have been a lot of changes to insurance here in the Sunshine State. Have they made a difference to your bill? How much are you paying to protect your home? Call us now 305-995-1800. 305-995-1800. This is the Florida Roundup. I'm Tom Hudson, and I want to welcome listeners of KQED in San Francisco to the Florida Roundup, from the Golden State to the Sunshine State.

We are simulcasting this part of our program with KQED's daily program, Forum, which is live in San Francisco, and Alexis Magrille. Alexis, welcome back to the program. Nice to connect with you again. Yeah, Tom, great to reconnect as well. I know people are very excited to kind of be able to do a little compare, contrast between the states. For folks listening in California, of course, the number to call is 866-733-6786, or you

can email us, forum at kqed.org. You know, we did this, I don't know, around election day, I think it was, right? Yeah. And, you know, we've been continuing conversations, and we thought this home insurance topic is really one that these two states certainly do share. And so our Florida line is open if you're listening here in the Sunshine State 305-995-1800, 305-995-1800, or the Florida inboxes radio at the floridaroundup.org. And of course I am here as well with Danielle Vettin, KQED science reporter who has been covering this home insurance crisis

as well as climate change for the station. You know I'd love to hear from you. I mean we've just coming out of a segment in which we were talking about what's happened with the LA fires. I know there's also been a ton of changes to insurance in Florida. Talk to me about sort of happened with the LA fires. I know there's also been a ton of changes to insurance in Florida. Talk to me about sort of where you all are at, like reset us for a California listen. Yeah, it's, you know, in part of this conversation, I'd love to kind of hear how California obviously

has been dealing with the aftermath of the wildfires and what homeowners are expecting when they open up, you know, next year's premium invoices. Here in Florida, boy, we went through several years of the home insurance market on the cliff of collapse and homeowners dealing with year over year double-digit increases in premium costs, 20%, 30% or even getting kicked out of their insurance because the companies no longer wanted to underwrite the risk of their homes. What's happened lately is because of some reforms and some other changes in the insurance market, at least

this year, Alexis and Danielle, what we've seen is a much lower rate of increase in insurance rates. And that's been trumpeted by our governor, Governor DeSantis and other supporters as a real success story of repairing what was a home insurance market that was about ready to fall apart for homeowners. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, do you buy that that is really working, Tom? Well, I mean, we'll see.

We've seen more than I think like a dozen new insurance companies enter the market, which is a sign of a much healthier market that companies want to take the risk in underwrite Florida homes. But there's a big difference between seeing a drop in an insurance rate and that translating into an insurance premium, what homeowners actually have to pay because we have seen home prices balloon. We've obviously seen inflation impact and maybe coverage rates have actually gone down. But this is the result of years of this home insurance being a central issue and one of the top issues for Florida voters.

So I'm wondering in California after the aftermath of the Los Angeles wildfires, how home insurance is rating for California voters? Is this a big issue for them as they look at state lawmakers to have some kind of response? Danielle, why don't you take that one? Yeah. So the problems of California insurance, the California insurance market were recognized a long time before these fires, and these fires have just put this issue on steroids. It is true that we have a highly regulated insurance system and so, and that has, you could say artificially depressed

prices here. I was looking up some stats and for a modest dwelling, you know, a Californian would pay an average of $1,300 a year for insurance whereas whereas a Floridian would pay more than almost $3,500. So our insurance costs are a lot less than Florida, but that's because market forces haven't been allowed to totally be at work. So we are in the process of majorly overhauling our regulations to be more pro-business. And that process is still playing out. Those regulations just went on the books in the end of December, and they're still playing out. We haven't really seen exactly how this is going to all shake out.

The expectation is what? That market forces would do what to insurance rates for that average California homeowner? Slow down the growth rate or you actually bring it down? People have different opinions on this. So I think broadly, the expectation is that costs need to go up to more accurately, you know, reflect the price of the risk. But some people tell me that they think prices may go down because, you know, they're at a high right now because insurance companies are concerned that they won't be able to, you know, that just that the California market is too unfriendly. So we're going to have to see. But the hope is that rates will not continue to go up at

the same pace that they have. Let's, you know, we've actually got a caller, Scott, in Calistoga on this topic. Welcome, Scott. Thank you. Oh, go ahead. You're on. Yes, I would agree with your expert saying that I really do believe we need market forces to prevail. I don't understand, I mean it's hard for me to accept that the insurance

companies should take on all the risk. I also believe that within our communities there are programs like Firewise USA where whole communities are taking more responsibility for hardening their homes in their neighborhoods. And I think that has to happen too. We all have to join in and address the issue. Well, if I could say, I think Scott, you just got right to the punchline, which is that these costs are going up because risk is going up and damage is going up. And we know that there are many things we can do to make our communities and our homes more

safe from fire. And that's the only way we're going to get out of this doom spiral of, you know, less availability and increase in costs is by making communities safer. Yeah. And Florida has had a similar response of hardening homes and providing subsidies or some kind of- Of course, for hurricanes, right. Well, right, for hurricanes. Well, I mean, there are fires in the Everglades, believe it or not, but thankfully, it rarely will threaten structures. But yeah, of course, it's hurricanes, it's wind, it's water, it's a lot of flooding too.

And there have been state programs, our state programs that the legislature has expanded dollars toward to help Florida homeowners harden their homes. And then of course, you know, after a home perhaps is severely damaged or destroyed after a storm, trying to hold the homeowner or perhaps the builder to a new level of structural safety, but yet still rebuilding in the places where these storms sometimes come. Margaret is listening here in Palatka in north central Florida. Margaret, you're on the radio.

Go ahead. Yes. As I was telling the young lady that answered my call, my concern is,, I'm a senior citizen, my husband and I are retired on a fixed income, and we have a small home in Palatka, I'd say probably 1300 square feet, something like that, and our homeowners premium is now over $4,000 a year. If it keeps going like this, we may not be able to afford to insure our home. And I know, you know, you look at the opposite of people say, well, if you don't have insurance, it's going to cost you so much to replace it. But if you

don't have it every month, you can't do it. Yeah. Margaret, thanks for calling. And I'll note that Palatka is not on the coast line, right? This is it's not on it's not on sand and beach here in Florida. And what Margaret talks about, we've heard this a lot in Florida, at least about some folks who are in a position who own their homes, they don't have a mortgage, who will self insure, right? Right. Going bear, right? Going bear. Exactly. Right. That's right. And say instead of the $4,000 a year, maybe try to stick some of that into a savings account, should and if they need to do significant repairs

after some kind of insurable event. I mean, Daniel, I'm curious, what we have seen, at least on the show and what we've heard from folks, is people don't want to go bare, but they're being dropped by their insurance companies. So reset us for that in California. Well, we are seeing that more and more in California, absolutely. I mean, if you're not renewed and you have a mortgage, you have to have home insurance

for that mortgage to be honored, right? Which is why people go to our insurer of last resort, the Fair Plan. But this summer, I spoke with many people whose homes had been burned in a fire near Chico who were retired, who were on a fixed income, who owned their homes outright, didn't technically need insurance and just felt they couldn't afford it. And when the fire took their home, they're now pushed into much more vulnerable housing. They're living in a trailer or living with family. And so when we talk about the importance of a robust, affordable, available insurance

market, it's really because insurance is kind of the first line of rescue for people to get their lives back and to not fall into poverty when something bad happens to them. It could not be more important for this system to work well. A lot of times we get federal emergency folks after a storm here make exactly that point, that FEMA assistance and other assistance is not a replacement for insurance, the private market or the last insurer of last resort in the state of Florida called Citizens. But to this point, we got an email from Natalie in Lake County, which is near Orlando. She writes, we are on one of the two remaining homeowners insurance policies to cover our

home. We have been bounced from company to company as they all stop covering homes in Florida. With each bounce, our rates have increased." And then Natalie says, for all the Californians out there, be aware of the home insurance market as it is now and what's going on. I wouldn't be surprised if something

like this happened in California. And clearly, it's already happening from your experience in your reporting. Oh, yeah, definitely. know we've got a caller James who's actually his father's experiencing almost exactly the situation. James welcome. James and Santa Clara you're on the radio go ahead. Well I think we we might have lost them there. Sorry about that James Well, you know one of the things that I'm really curious about is you know We have these two states that do the quote insurer of last resort in kind of two different ways, right?

We've got California which Daniel, please correct me if I say this incorrectly, but this is a It is a private insurers kind of fund it, but it's run by the state and then in... I'm sorry. Go ahead. Yes, go ahead. You do it. You tell us.

I mean, so it is set up by the state and regulated by the state, but it is in effect a private insurer and it is mostly supported by policy, you know, by policy holders by the fees. So it's very expensive insurance. It's not excellent insurance, but it's a little bit of coverage. And then the backup, if it if it runs out of money is other other insurers in the, you know, in the admitted market. It's a similar kind of situation here in Florida.

It's called citizens property insurance. It's been around for a number of decades, and the need for it really was seen after the 1992 storm Andrew. And right, it's mostly supported by policyholders paying premiums. But oftentimes, those premiums are less than what a private insurer would offer on the same property. And so

that kind of difference, that subsidy as some would call it, you know, suppresses the market and has had a number of homes and homeowners wind up, you know, looking to the state to get their coverage when they get either dropped by their insurer or the price just skyrockets. And Citizens Meantime is concentrated in the areas in Florida that you would expect it to be tough to get reasonably priced insurance, right, along coastlines and major metropolitan areas. And if I'm correct, Citizens is the number one insurance provider in Florida. Oh, yes, yes, by far. Yes, yes.

And it also is backed by a number of layers of financial protection, right? So it's first the premium and then it can put a essentially put a tax on all other types of insurance in Florida if it runs out of money because of some multiple catastrophic events. So ultimately it puts the entire state of Florida and Floridians at risk of having to provide the financial backstop that's necessary for this. Yeah, in California, the fair plan is not even in the top 10 insurance providers. But for the first time in recent memory, we are seeing a fee being charged to other insurance companies and to policyholders to prop it up.

And that's to make up, I think, for the Los Angeles wildfires and the exposure there, no? That's correct, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Okay, I think we've got a caller here in Florida. Franklin has been patient in Orlando. Go ahead, Franklin, you're on the radio. Hi there. I was wondering if you would address the recent investigative report that showed the state farm does not have money because they've passed the premium funds on to their

local station and therefore they appear to be broke, when in fact you consider where they've taken in, they are not. Yeah. Is the legislature going to look into this? Franklin, great question. So for context here, there was a great report from some colleagues at the Tampa Bay Times that found a report from 2022 from the state Florida insurance regulator, finding that

insurers in Florida were diverting millions of dollars into what are called affiliate companies. So these are companies that couldn't provide call service or policy approvals and processing. And those dollars that would wind up oftentimes in executive pay or even investor payments. At the same time, the insurance companies guys were kind of pleading poverty or talking about being broke and not able to cover some of their claims or losses. So a bit of a scandal here. There was a hearing in the Florida legislature, but there really hasn't been much movement on any legislation to look at this or to regulate it more. It

has gone quiet here as we already are almost to the end of our regular law writing session here in Florida. And Danielle, we've got some of our own issues with the insurance commissioner right now, yeah, in California? Yeah, these issues sort of seem to pop up perennially, accusations that he's too cozy with the insurance industry. Some people make more of that or less than others, but it's a criticism that is lobbied at him, it seems like, every couple of years. Yeah, our criticism in Florida here is not so much the commissioner, but rather the legislature.

There's a lot of lobbying money. There's a lot of campaign cash that floats around, especially during election time. And on one hand, you have a lot for the insurance company, because, you know, let's face it, right, the dollars that are at stake are enormous. And then on the other hand, you also have lawyers, plaintiff lawyers that also want the ability to go after some of these insurance companies that they contend are acting in bad faith in some cases. Well, listen, this has been a terrific conversation. I hope we can do it again.

Oh, my gosh. It's so it's always so interesting to hear these Florida voices. I love it. Yeah, and California as well. You know, so much right between Florida and California is seen kind of through this partisan lens as if as if these were the two states on some you know political spectrum extreme, but You know, I've lived in both states. I gotta tell you there's a lot in common I mean a lot more elevation in California than there's in Florida, but nonetheless though

We tend to have a lot more in common. I think sometimes guys than we than we think we do It just seems like so much we can learn from each other as well You know even just being able to see that another insurer of last resort might work in a different way, maybe give us some of these ideas about what we're able to do here in California as well. Yeah. Well, Alexis, Danielle, thanks so much for joining us here in Florida. We appreciate it. Yeah. Thanks for joining us, Tom Hudson. Thank you so much. We are going to be back with the break. Terrific. We will continue here in the Sunshine State here in Florida. We'll get you updated on the latest from the FSU shooting and information from higher education

throughout Florida Next. This is the Florida Roundup. I'm Tom Hudson. Thanks for being here. It was just before noon Thursday near the student union at Florida State when a gunman opened fire. Two people were killed, six more were hurt, five of those were shot. The gunman was an FSU student according to police. He was shot by police and is in custody. Tripp Wyckoff works at the FSU Strosier Library. We closed all the doors to the suite, got my people into a safe room and then went out

and started clearing people out of bathrooms and other rooms to try and get them into a central place. That library was the site of a campus shooting back in 2014. Police say the shooter is the son of a Leon County Sheriff's deputy and used her old service weapon. Walt McNeil is the Leon County Sheriff. This is obviously a heinous crime. Our deepest condolences go out to the FSU family,

the families of the students who are here. And we understand that you all have been devastated because of this person's actions. Classes are canceled Friday. Finals week is due to start a week from Monday. Richard McCulley is the president of FSU. Right now, our top priority is safety and well-being for all the people in our campus. Douglas Soll covers the state legislature for us in Tallahassee. Douglas, what have some of the

early reactions been among legislators and the governor? The first reaction I think was largely of shock. The shooting took place on the FSU campus, which is a short walk, a short drive from the Florida Capitol where legislative activities were commencing. We've since seen calls from the governor from legislative leadership for justice against on the shooter. We've also seen praises for the law enforcement reaction for quickly shooting and detaining the shooter in this situation. I've seen some talk from democratic lawmakers bashing a measure that's currently in the Capitol that would lower the long gun buying age from 21 to 18. They're pointing out that the alleged gunman's age was 20. They don't think the age should be lowered, though that

has not made it through the Senate at all as of yet. That piece of legislation was passed and made into law after the Parkland school shooting in South Florida in 2018. Let's talk about some other legislative activity this week part of your Florida project connecting listeners and audience members here at the Florida Roundup with state government and policies. Florida lawmakers are advancing legislation they say will help condo owners struggling with rising costs. HOA fees, I've been here I think since 2016 and they've more than doubled, almost tripled in that period of time. Linda Babblin is the treasurer of her condo board in St. Petersburg. Now laws put in place

after 98 people died when the Champlain Towers South condo board in St. Petersburg. Now laws put in place after 98 people died when the Champlain Towers South condo building collapsed in Surfside require older condos throughout the entire state to be inspected and condo associations to start saving money for regular repairs. Pala Premuda Conti recently bought her condo in St. Pete. I'm looking at options right now. This is an area I love and it's so nice. The weather, it's people, I know people that I really like and enjoy being but it's also like you can't be stressed about money all the time. It makes no sense. So maybe an option is to rent the second bedroom. Douglas Saul is still

with us, our state government reporter. Douglas, there are a few bills making the rounds in the state house about these condo reforms, which ones are gathering traction in the final weeks? There are definitely front runners. Governor Ron DeSantis made that clear last week when he used a press conference to largely talk about such legislation and the need for it. He focused on two bills, one in the House and one in the Senate that are currently moving through the Capitol with a lot of traction. He praised the Senate bill but bashed the House bill, though the House proposal has since been significantly amended.

The Senate bill, as I understand it, would allow a two-year pause for condo associations to set aside money if certain conditions are met. Is that right? That's correct. And the Senate bill also notably allows associations to invest reserve money so less is taken out of owners' pockets. Chris Kelly manages a condo building in St. Petersburg. He said residents have not been happy with the hike in fees. It's not coming from the association. It's not coming from the board of directors. It's the inflation, the insurance, and the milestone. And some of this has been mandated by the

state legislature. So it's nothing that really can be done with it, other than I tell people, contact your state senators and state representatives, and let them know you're not happy about it. So Douglas, Governor DeSantis called for a special session months ago to address condominium reforms. Legislators refused. So why now? Legislative leadership say they feel like they're threading a needle here, trying to keep condo residents safe, while also trying to reduce the associated cost. They also wanted this to play out over the course of the regular session to figure out these complexities and to get more stakeholder input here. The reforms after Surfside were the first time Florida condos were required, mandated

by law to save money for regular maintenance. They've been able to waive those fees. David Reed lives in a condo in Jupiter, that's in Palm Beach County. He does not agree with how his association is spending its extra money. I thought for our neighborhood close to the beach like this, I thought our rates were kind of low, but I didn't think our rates should be put in more insurance and more inspections. I would have put it into beautification and of course a little bit of safety, but not what they're proposing here. Douglas, how could these bills this year change how associations raise and have to save money for regular maintenance?

One of the things these bills, both of them also try to do is increase transparency and accountability on condo association leadership. The House legislation does have a provision allowing condos to use a line of credit to fund reserves that is steadily moved through the House and is set for the House floor, actually. With two weeks left to go in the regular law writing session in Tallahassee. Douglas Soll has been following it all as our state government reporter here on Florida Public Radio. Douglas, thanks so much. No, thanks for having me. Community engagement reporter Megan Bowman contributes to our reporting. You can contribute as well by adding

your voice to the Your Florida Reporting Project by visiting w-u-s-f dot o-r-g slash your dash Florida. I'm Tom Hudson and you're listening to The Florida Roundup from your Florida Public Radio Station. Florida has been more aggressive than any other state in partnering with federal authorities to enforce immigration laws. At least 10 state universities have now signed or are expected to sign agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to cooperate. That includes the University of Florida, Florida State, and the University of Central Florida.

Florida International University also has an agreement with ICE, allowing its campus police to question and detain people without legal status. Education reporter Natalie LaRoche-Pietri from our partner station WLRN in Miami was there. No ICE on campus! No ICE! Faculty are concerned about a possible chilling effect throughout the student body of which more than 3,500 are international. The protest also comes after 18 FIU students had their F1 visa statuses abruptly revoked by the Trump administration last week. History professor and union member Terence Peterson was at the protest. We want our students to show up. It's hard enough to get them to show up anyways

if they're afraid to come because they might be arrested and deported. The demonstration happened ahead of the Board of Trustees meeting the same day. When the faculty's unease was brought up, Board Chair Rogelio Tovar said this. I would tell you no student should be fearful if they're here legally. Tania Cepero-Lopez, president of the United Faculty of Florida at FIU, said this development only underscores a string of politically motivated changes in recent months. So everything starts accumulating and it feels like it's in preparation for something. And we keep being told that we're being paranoid, but we have to go by the evidence that we

have in front of us. Florida Atlantic University also recently entered in partnership with ICE. I'm Natalie LaRoche-Piatri in Sweetwater. There are just two weeks left now in the regular law rating session in Tallahassee. This week the House okayed a change to a law passed just a few years ago governing how university presidents are hired. The bill, okayed on Wednesday, repeals the earlier law that kept the process and names of applicants secret. It would also end the State University System Board of Governors' role in confirming presidential selections

made by university boards of trustees, and it would try to limit the influence of the governor and other officials on presidential selections. But Governor Andresantis blasted the proposed changes, raising the threat of a veto if the bill reaches his desk. This is not what you asked for. None of them campaigned on this. Why is this happening, given the success we've had?

Wouldn't you want to build off the success rather than sabotage the success? Republican Representative Michelle Salzman from Pensacola is the sponsor. I don't think that this is anything other than a policy disagreement. I believe that allowing this process to be in the sunshine is going to let Floridians have more trust in the system, more trust in how we're making these choices.

A similar Senate bill needs to get out of committee before it goes to the full chamber. Public school students may not be able to use their cell phones next school year under a bill that unanimously passed out of the House this week. Two years ago, a law barred students from using cell phones and other wireless devices during instructional time. This legislation would go further. It would stop students from using mobile phones and other wireless devices during the entire school day, not just during class time.

Representative Demi Busada from Miami-Dade County is the bill sponsor. Cell phones not only cause constant distractions to a student's focus during the school day, which impedes their ability to learn, but it also has shown to increase bullying. Finally on the roundup, in about one month, Mandy Walker and Kailyn Warden will be in Germany, not in Florida. They'll be in Germany wearing monofins. They'll probably be underwater. monofins. They'll probably be underwater. Walker lives near Tampa. Warden is from Mount Dora. They are two of the six members of Team USA for the MER Olympics. Yes, it's a very, very creative sports event. The MER Olympics is a unique event. That's one of the organizers of the MER Olympics. Yes, Olympics for mermaids and mermen. Every athlete must swim with a

moto fin with head to full body cover. Yes, that you look like a mermaid or a mermaid. Merm people from 15 countries will be swimming in six categories hoping for the gold medal. Yes, they'll have to wear that single fin while in the water competing in various challenges like racing to rescue someone from the water and photo diving challenges like racing to rescue someone from the water and photo diving literally diving underwater for a photograph because it's one thing to see a mermaid those mythical half fish half person creatures it's quite another to get a picture of one And that'll do it for the roundup this week. It is produced by WLN Public Media in Miami and WUSF in Tampa by Bridget O'Brien and

Grayson Docter with assistance from Denise Royal. WLN's Vice President of Radio is Peter Merz. The program's technical director is MJ Smith. Engineering help from Doug Peterson, Ernesto Jay and Jackson Hart. Our theme music is provided by Miami Jazz guitarist Aaron Leibos at AaronLeibos.com. Our inbox is always open waiting for you. We'd love to hear from you. What's on your mind? Send us a quick note. Email radio at the floridaroundup.org. Radio at the floridaroundup.org. And we may use your email in the weeks to come. Thanks for calling, emailing, listening, and above all supporting public media in your neighborhood. I'm Tom Hudson. Have a terrific weekend!