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Questions raised over Florida Cabinet meeting in Israel

By Brendan Farrington | iNFOTEL
May 21 2019 11:08 AM

CP159169397 — FILE- In this March 5, 2019 file photo. Florida Gov. Ron Desantis gives his state of the state address on the first day of legislative session, in Tallahassee, Fla. DeSantis is going to Israel with a large contingent of business leaders. That‚Äôs not surprising, especially as the GOP woos Jewish voters ahead of an important election year. But holding a meeting with the state\'s three independently elected Cabinet members while he\'s there has raised concerns about violating the state\'s open-meeting laws. (AP Photo/Steve Cannon, File)

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is going to Israel with a large contingent of business leaders later this week. That’s not surprising, especially as the GOP woos Jewish voters ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

But DeSantis also has announced plans to hold a meeting with the state’s three independently elected Cabinet members while he’s there. That has raised concerns about whether the officials are violating the state’s open-meeting laws.

The trip begins Saturday. As of Tuesday, the Cabinet hadn’t posted the meeting on its calendar or provided an agenda.

Barbara Petersen of the open-government watchdog group First Amendment Foundation is concerned. She says there is no reason to hold a Cabinet meeting that regular Floridians won’t be able to attend.

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