The Federal Election Commission has fined Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach and the private border wall company he was once linked to $30,000 for campaign finance violations during his failed 2020 Senate bid.
In a settlement approved by the Federal Election Commission last month, about a week after Kobach was elected, he admitted to illegally accepting a similar contribution from We Build the Wall, a Steve Bannon-related group that "led a fundraising campaign for .construction of "private" border wall, but caught in accusations of fraud.
CNN has reached out to lawyers for Kobach and We Build the Wall for comment.
In 2019, Kobach's campaign hired a We Build the Wall mailing list of 295,000 people for just $2,000, far less than the usual price.
The campaign was also accused of additional campaign finance violations related to We Build the Wall, but the FEC, composed of three Democrats and three Republicans, dismissed or evenly split those charges.
Kobach is an immigration hardliner and longtime claimant of false electoral claims who served as Kansas Secretary of State from 2011 to 2019 and has close ties to former President Donald Trump.
Kobach was elected Kansas attorney general in November, defeating Democrat Chris Mann 51% to 49%. His victory comes after two consecutive losses in the most recent election cycle: he lost the gubernatorial race in 2018 and the Republican nomination for the US Senate in 2020.
Previously, he served on We Build the Wall's board of directors and was the organization's general counsel.
Two men pleaded guilty in federal court and another was convicted of donor fraud with We Build the Wall. Bannon and the company now face charges in New York state. Bannon, who pleaded not guilty to state charges, was previously indicted in federal court but pardoned by then-President Trump at the end of his term.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – (Newsfile Corporation – Dec 29, 2022) – Wojak Finance, a new "Profile to Win" solution is giving a big boost to the popular "Game to Win" trend in the Web3 industry. They published a set of NFTs based on a new revenue profiling solution. This collection aims to capitalize on the meme phenomenon and bring the entire meme and crypto community together.
VOYAKIANCE NFT
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The purpose of the pool is to attract WOJ token buyers who change their social media profile picture from NFT Pool to Wojakian.
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Trumbull — The City Council could take a step forward in revising retirement benefits for employees, including police officers, as the Finance Committee voted earlier this month to appropriate $40,000 for a retired consultant.
However, the grants still have to be approved by the city council, which meets Jan. 5.
According to a letter from Human Resources Director Thomas McCarthy to Chief Financial Officer Lani McHugh, the advisor "will review current and potential future changes to employee pension benefits and make recommendations on potential plan changes, costs and risks."
About eight years ago, the city changed its pension plan from a defined benefit plan to a defined contribution plan.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, a defined benefit plan promises defined monthly benefits for retirement. The required benefits can be a specific dollar amount or calculated using a formula that takes into account factors such as salary and employment.
A defined contribution system is not a defined retirement benefit. In these plans, the employee, the employer, or both contribute to the employee's individual account, depending on the plan.
This created a particular problem for the city's police department, as it granted many officers leave to work in departments with fixed pay plans. According to Chief of Police Michael Lombardo, this helped solve the department's ongoing staffing and maintenance problem.
The department has 14 officers, which requires Lombardo to transfer some officers to special assignments, including two city school officers, to patrol.
"We continue to ask people to work double shifts regularly and do our best to provide the required level of service," he said.
In his letter, McCarthy said USI Consulting Group, which was chosen to conduct the pension benefits review, quoted from the city $29,000 for the initial services. However, the board asked for $40,000 "to allow the business to continue."
At the meeting of the Finance Committee held on December 8, when the award was accepted, this matter was discussed at length in the meeting of the Board of Directors. When the board returned for its opening session, member Scott Zimov asked if changing the retirement plan was the best way to solve the problems facing the police department.
"(We're) apparently on a 'no pension, no pension' path, and that's how we keep people, and there are a lot of ways to keep people other than pensions or annuities," he said. He said
Zimov said he's heard of other communities using tactics like flexible hours to reduce pressure on police and improve enforcement. But McHugh said determining the best way to restrain the officers was not the purpose of the investigation.
"I think the analysis is to see if it is financially feasible for the municipality (to change the pension plan), not whether it is the best idea," he said.
The board ultimately voted 5-1 to award the money.
The next step will be the city council, and Lombardo said he hopes to go down the fiscal council path.
"I hope funding for the study will finally be approved and start soon," he said.
All four Republican National Committee (RNC) finance chairs supported Ronna McDaniel's bid to stay on as party chair, citing her experience in fundraising and donor relations as her ability to meet the leadership challenge.
According to emails obtained by The Hill, current CFO Duke Buchan III and former CFOs Todd Ricketts, Ray Washburn and Ron Weiser have written to 168 RNC members to express their support for McDaniel.
The emails highlight McDaniel's relationship with RNC sponsors and his efforts to build a fundraising infrastructure during his six years in office. McDaniel is running for a fourth term as president but has faced criticism from the right over the party's campaign performance and spending.
“Ronna is a proven fundraiser who has amassed incredible resources during her tenure; resources that campaigns depend on to win at all levels across the country. He has built and developed a Republican infrastructure that will stand the test of time,” Washburn, who served as chief financial officer in 2013 and 2014, wrote in a letter to NRC members released Tuesday.
In his letter, Weiser, who served as the NRC's chief financial officer from 2011 to 2013 and is now chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, spoke out against what he called "false attacks" on how the committee spends its money in the meantime. elections.
Harmeet Dhillon, a California attorney representing former President Trump and NRC member Harmeet Dhillon, announced his challenge to McDaniel. Dillon and several others pointed to high travel costs and questioned McDaniel's spending priorities.
“Anyone who thinks they can raise the necessary funds without spending money on travel, food and the like is delusional,” Weiser wrote in a letter to NCR members Tuesday. “I know that Rona is doing what is best for our party and our country. In fact, we cannot lose sight of this basic fact. To win, we need effective fundraising and Rona has shown remarkable results."
Ricketts, who worked with McDaniel at the NRC for three years, wrote in a letter to backers that "Ronna understands when a party is failing (like this year in the Senate) and is always looking to improve, so we're always working on that. ." . victory".
“Ronna has the knowledge and experience to attract low-value donors, promote creative technology to compete with the Democrats, and continue to find innovative ways to improve our digital fundraising,” Ricketts wrote.
Buchan, who has worked with McDaniel as chief financial officer for the past two years, cited more than 300 events and more than 1,300 hours of special fundraising appeals, as well as millions of dollars raised for the party, as signs of his commitment. Worked
“These efforts cannot be replicated quickly or easily, and we cannot risk underfunding during the critical presidential term ahead,” Buchan said.
McDaniel has led the NRC since 2017 and wins an election every two years. But disappointment among Republicans mounted after this year's unusual midterm elections, as Democrats added a seat to their Senate majority and won a key gubernatorial race, while Republicans won a smaller-than-expected majority in The House of Representatives.
As conservatives called for changes at the top of the NRC, part of the blame fell on McDaniel. His critics noted that the GOP's loss of the House of Representatives in 2018, the White House and Senate in 2020, and McDaniel's full term in 2022 lowered expectations.
But the RNC's selection process for president could help isolate McDaniel to some degree, because he has strong ties to many of the 168 members who will decide his fate. McDaniel only needs the support of a majority of 168 to secure another term, while Dhillon will need the support of at least two RNC members in three different states or territories to even be on the ballot. Each state and territory has three RNC members.
In a letter of support released earlier this month, 107 RNC members endorsed McDaniel, more than the 84 needed for re-election in the party's caucus in January. McDaniel also has the support of former NRC president Reince Priebus.
Trump has refused to endorse a candidate in the NRC race and said in a recent interview with Breitbart News that he likes both McDaniel and Dillon.
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LONDON (Reuters) – Britain on Friday proposed more than 30 reforms to boost the City of London's role as a global financial hub, now outside the European Union and competition from Amsterdam, Paris and Frankfurt, as well as New York and Singapore is exposed . . .
Is this the BIG BANG 2.0?
Not quite, but it does represent a swing of the regulatory pendulum, from years of increasing capital requirements for banks and tightening consumer protections, to considering the changes needed to make rules work better for post-Brexit Britain.
Originally dubbed Big Bang 2.0 on the same scale as the far-reaching share dealing reforms of the 1980s, the changes have now been dubbed the 'Edinburgh Reforms' by the city after they were officially announced by Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt.
The government has softened its rhetoric, insisting there will be no "race to the bottom", significant deviations from international standards or the lifting of investor protections, but rather that regulators should help fund the sector's international competitiveness.
Hunt said it would be a mistake to call the reforms a big deal given the need to avoid "unlearned" lessons from the 2008 global financial crisis and emphasize regulator independence.
“The city does not want the restrictions to be lifted. Today's announcement is an indication of evolution, not revolution,” said Alasdair Heinz, CEO of the Aquis Stock Exchange.
What is a ring fence?
The UK has announced an easing of capital rules for insurers and is now turning its attention to banks.
Since January 2019, banks have had to relax their deposit insurance with a capital buffer to protect them from thriving in their riskier businesses.
Banks complain that rules that are too strict prevent smaller banks from competing with larger lenders in the mortgage market. The government said it would follow the commissioned review's recommendations and change the rules.
The Government will consider exempting banks with no significant investment activity from the rules in mid-2023 and raising the threshold for deposits leading to compliance with the dueling rules from £25bn to £35bn.
Are the bankers now?
He didn't return to the "light touch" before the financial crisis.
The government previously said it would lift EU restrictions on bank bonuses, although other restrictions on bonus withdrawals are expected to remain in place.
Britain introduced rules in 2016 to hold top bankers directly accountable for decisions they made in 2018 after several people were found guilty of the wrongdoing that led to the global financial crisis when taxpayers bailed out creditors.
It was feared as a means of publicly shaming bankers by "hanging their heads", but so far there have been few investigations or executions. Bankers said it's also taking a long time for regulators to approve executive appointments.
The government will review this accreditation system and its leaders in the first quarter of 2023, without specifying the scope of the changes.
What about the market?
There will be a number of revisions as London tries to catch up with New York on the list.
Topics covered include the rules for short selling or betting that the stock price will fall. The government is proposing to permanently remove the EU-era interpretative “PRIIPs” documents offered to investors and replace them with an alternative framework.
There will be an industry task force looking into halving the time it takes to complete a stock trade from two business days to one business day, a move already planned in the US.
The rules for the prospectus that the company offers to investors will be revised when it is published, along with the reform of the securitization rules.
The government has promised to enact "consolidation bands" rules by 2024 to ensure market prices for investors see the best deals on trading platforms.
The government will work on the audit's recommendations to improve the way listed companies attract investors for new financing.
There will be an overhaul of EU rules requiring brokers to calculate the cost of finding securities and executing securities orders, known as 'cutting', a rule the EU has partially reversed. There will also be evidence that wholesale marketplaces operate at times to improve companies' access to capital before going public.
What about green finance?
The government will discuss subjecting ESG rating providers to the regulatory network.
Investors often use ratings to select companies that offer "green" credentials but are unregulated. The FCA said it will promote regulation focused on transparency, good governance, management of conflicts of interest and strong systems and controls.
Will there be British coins?
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, as finance minister, called for "Britcoin" or the digital pound to speed up payments.
The government is set to consult with the Bank of England on a retail digital pound in the coming weeks.
(Reporting by Hugh Jones; Editing by Eileen Hardcastle)
A leading RPA provider, the most innovative company in the software industry
SAN FRANCISCO , Dec. 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — RoboCorp has been named the Most Innovative Software Company at the 2022-2023 World Financial Innovation Awards . These awards are given to industry leaders who are improving production, management and control systems and creating a new future.
"We are honored to be the most innovative company in the software industry in global finance," said Antti Karjalainen, CEO and founder of Robocorp. “This recognition is a testament to our team's commitment to transforming the financial industry with advanced RPA and software. automation. Innovation is at the heart of everything Robocorp does and pushes the boundaries of what's possible." We look forward to continuing to move forward in the years ahead."
Global Finance established the Innovation Awards because it believes there is an opportunity for companies and industries to lead technology convergence while demanding unprecedented collaboration, innovation and operational excellence. These awards recognize people who not only advance the industrial revolution, but also revolutionize systems and maximize their impact.
To date, RoboCorp solutions have proven highly effective in the financial sector. By using automation, users can simplify and improve their processes and procedures, automate repetitive and routine tasks, reduce costs and improve overall competitiveness. With automation, financial organizations and businesses can build happier, more productive and more strategic teams.
Ultimately, innovation in finance is no longer an add-on to a process or core strategy, but a key opportunity to dig deeper, ask more questions, and address ongoing change across all areas of business.
For the full list of winners, visit the World Finance Innovation Awards website here .
About RoboCorp Robocorp is pushing the boundaries of RPA and intelligent automation to enable companies and teams to work more efficiently. The company makes software robots and manual tasks easy, affordable and fast with world-class open source process automation tools. It also provides a robust and secure orchestration and execution platform that enables customers to manage cloud-based, self-driving robotic automation at consumption-based pricing. Robocorp is backed by Benchmark, Canvas Ventures, Slow Ventures, FirstMinute Capital, Harpoon Ventures, Uncorrelated Ventures, Artisanal Ventures, Haystack and Angels. RoboCorp is headquartered in San Francisco and our main offices are accessible online. Learn more at https://robocorp.com/
Downloadable media View original content: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/robocorp-award-world-finance-innovation-award-301698890.html
RoboCorp Source:
Topsector T&U Innovation Award webinar launched Drone farming concepts
Green strategies like ESG-branded properties are designed to have a smaller carbon footprint. However, in some cases this means abandoning carbon-intensive industries rather than taking reasonable steps to reduce emissions.
Transitional finance is related to real impact. For example, it could be an investment in the steel industry, which is based on the receiver’s approach of zero returns. It could be investments in infrastructure that we want to move away from fossil fuels, or investments in innovative companies or projects that need capital to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Ninety-One Global Chief Investment Officers conducted a survey of 300 top asset owners around the world to explore the potential for financing the transition. A majority of respondents (60%) said that combating climate change is one of their foundations’ strategic goals, and nearly half (51%) of their foundations have emission reduction goals.
At first glance, these figures paint an encouraging picture. However, only one in five (19%) say they use bridging finance at any level, and even fewer (16%) say their fund invests in bridging financial assets in emerging markets, which are experiencing the highest growth in emissions.
The survey shows that property owners are more likely to use other investment methods to account for climate change, such as climate-related issues and positive selection. So why isn’t bridging finance more widely used?
A framework for sustainable development
More than half of the assets surveyed (55%) say their funds are not focused on anything other than the risk and return of their assets, while 40% believe climate-related investments have low returns.
“Most investors grew up in an era where sustainability was often affordable,” said Alison Luat, managing director of sustainability investing and innovation at OPTrust, a $25 billion Canadian pension plan. “There’s been a big shift in thinking because it’s not always right, but for many, this structure still exists.”
Faith Ward, chief investment officer at Brunel Pensions Partnership, says a clear policy framework and strategy is needed to encourage wealth owners to shift their focus to financial transition. “We need political positions and we need laws to support them,” she said. Coordinated financing and close cooperation between development banks and investors is widespread. It must all be brought together and understood that there will be different solutions in different markets.
New markets need attention
More capital needs to be invested to help emerging markets decarbonize and transition to clean energy. The International Energy Agency says that to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2030, $4 trillion is needed to invest in clean energy projects and infrastructure. There are more than three contingent liabilities and more funding is needed in emerging markets.
More than half (53%) of ninety-one survey respondents are concerned about the risk and return profiles of their funds in a changing market financial world. Some are looking to work closely with their advisors to support financial investments during the transition, especially for emerging market opportunities.
“They need different skills, knowledge and experience in emerging markets,” said a senior executive at a European property owner.
Property owners have capital and influence
More than half (56%) of property owners believe that if they invest more in transition financial assets, the world will not be able to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Among property owners, property managers and consultants, some say there may be a change in culture or approach. “I think a lot of people who have ‘sustainability’ in their title would spend a lot of time creating art if they changed their culture,” says Alison Loth of Optirest.
Property owners are in a unique position. They have the capital and influence to help change the world. By allocating capital for the transition, businesses and sectors will benefit from zeroing in on the impacts of climate change.
Although China has the largest carbon footprint in the world, its per capita income and emissions are far lower than those of most rich countries.
One of the main outcomes of COP27, the climate conference held in Egypt earlier this month, was the creation of a new UN-administered fund to compensate developing countries for the costs of natural disasters linked to climate change.
Convincing rich countries to agree to such a 'damage and loss' fund was seen by many developing country activists and diplomats as the minimum outcome of COP27 that could be considered a success. But beyond its existence, little is known about the fund, other than its purpose, how it will be used by vulnerable countries or where the money will come from.
Read more
The deal makes it clear that it's not just the usual suspects – the United States, Europe, Canada and the other biggest historical emitters of greenhouse gases – that will be eliminated. Funding must come from "new and additional resources (…) other sources, instruments, processes and initiatives, including outside the Convention and the Paris Agreement", specifies the agreement.
The term implies that multinational financial institutions such as the World Bank can contribute, as well as non-governmental organizations. And it suggests that individual countries, whose economies and emissions have grown dramatically since the start of the UN climate conference in 1992, must also play their part, especially China, many Western leaders argue, because the country now has the largest carbon sink in the world. trace.
Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown told the Guardian on November 26 that China should contribute more to the damage and loss. EU climate representative Frans Timmermans and other leaders made similar announcements at the COP.
China's emissions and per capita income are still relatively low
However, there is little reason to believe that China will come to the rescue of erosion. At COP27, China's climate envoy Xie Zhenhua specifically said his country would not contribute to the new fund. And the facts seem to lend moral support to his arguments.
As with all forms of global climate finance, contributions to damage and loss funds are voluntary, which means that holding individual donors accountable is academic work and not legally binding. But in a June 2022 article (PDF), economists from Britain's Overseas Development Institute (ODI) think tank sought to identify potential new contributors to climate finance by looking at rich country emissions and revenues (or climate conditions of Annex II countries, for comparison). , the list which (including EU, USA, Canada and Australia) with any other country. Specifically, the ODI looks at income per capita for a country's ability to pay and cumulative emissions per capita since 1990 as a country's contribution to the climate crisis.
datawrapper-chart-9x9hQ
The ODI logic was that any non-annex II country that scored one or two of these criteria higher than an annex II country could be a mandatory applicant for climate finance. On this basis, China is off the hook. Revenue and emissions rank among the wealthiest countries with the highest emissions among all Annex II countries.
datawrapper-graph-lYZ6l
GCC countries should contribute more to climate finance
The ODI analysis identifies other potential contributors. Singapore and Qatar have higher emissions and per capita income than most Annex II countries. Singapore has yet to contribute anything to global climate finance. In 2021, Qatar committed $500,000 to the former United Nations fund, which supports climate change adaptation projects. And while the small European financial center of Liechtenstein maintains low emissions, it is another high-income country not included in Annex II.
The analysis also shows that Israel and other oil and gas exporting Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates have higher revenues and emissions than some or many countries in Annex II. Conversely, it also suggests that some climate-affected countries – the Bahamas, Trinidad and Nauru – are the most vocal proponents of damage and loss funds. These islands are sparsely populated and often rely on diesel generators and other inefficient electrical systems with high pollution levels, so their per capita emissions are relatively high. But none of these countries has a higher income than any of the Annex II countries.
Obviously, blaming climate change is a confusing business without clear answers. And given that the more obvious Annex II contenders have yet to meet their 2009 fundraising commitments to raise $100 billion a year in total climate finance by 2020, smaller contenders have enough of political cover to continue. Dubai is unlikely to provide further details or fund the loss and damage fund until next year's COP28.
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Fossil fuel companies know how to stop global warming. Why not? |: Miles Allen
As some US companies look to cut jobs to cut costs, CFOs and other executives may falter.
Although unemployment insurance claims remain historically low, US employers reported 33,843 job cuts in October, up 13% from September and up 48% from the previous month. Last year, according to external and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. The most layoffs since February 2021, with cost cutting and market conditions among the top five reasons cited for layoffs.
Businesses, especially those that experienced strong revenue growth and a larger workforce during the Covid-19 pandemic, are beginning to tighten their belts in the face of skyrocketing inflation and rising interest rates. They are increasingly looking at layoffs as a way to save capital, among other measures such as a hiring freeze.
Consultants who have worked with companies during downsizing say financial managers play a key role in setting a company's financial goals and deciding what costs to cut. Hardik Seth, a partner at Boston Consulting Group, said CFOs are increasingly involved in the early discussion about the need to cut jobs. They help management understand the range of options available to improve performance, including adapting business models or product offerings, Mr. Shet said.
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In addition, finance managers set financial goals to be achieved from layoffs and work closely with human resources departments to help decide where to make cuts, says Susan Gunn, a partner at management consulting firm Bain & Co. added that they also determine the amount of separation. A well-handled layoff in the US takes two to three months, John said, and requires a solid strategy, as well as empathy and transparency.
If some companies are under pressure to act quickly, they risk giving workers inadequate notice, said David Santacroce, a law professor at the University of Michigan Law School. The federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act, or WARN Act, requires companies with 100 or more workers to give at least 60 days notice of a layoff if it affects at least 500 full-time employees at the same location, or if is one less- Third, fewer workers are fired than necessary. The number of workers per building.
Image: Twitter to Meta: Putting technology into numbers
States like New York and California have adopted lower notification limits. Some employees at Twitter Inc., which recently laid off nearly half its workforce, are now opposing the layoffs. In a federal lawsuit this month, the plaintiffs allege the company violated the WARN Act and its California equivalent by failing to provide proper notice of mass layoffs. San Francisco-based Twitter said in a legal filing last week that it had met its legal obligations by giving workers 60-day notice to terminate their employment, including wages and benefits. Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“If the economic outlook changes so drastically and quickly, cuts need to be made faster and with less thought,” said Andy Challenger, senior vice president at Challenger, Gray & Christmas. "Then it could go wrong."
Layoffs will increase as the economy weakens, the teacher said. said Santacroce of the University of Michigan Law School. "The same is true of the number of cases where the [employer surveillance] law has allegedly been violated. There seems to be no reason to think that will change."
But layoffs may not help companies in the long run.
Companies that downsize rarely outperform their peers that don't, says Wayne Cassio, a professor emeritus at the Denver School of Business in Colorado who has studied the costs of downsizing for decades. Cascio, along with two finance professors, studied the impact of layoffs on more than 4,000 public companies over the 37 years ending in 2016.
Citing research published last year, Cascio said companies that collapsed as a "quick fix" or an easy option to restore profitability did not outperform competitors that persevered through the downturn. According to Cascio, labor costs often make up a large part of a company's operating budget and are therefore an easy target for managers to save cash. “Is the risk that when the economy picks up, you have to hire the same people you fired?” He says. "Quick fixes never seem to work."
TILLAHASSE, Fla. – A group of wealthy individuals helped foot the bill as Gov. Ron DeSantis faced Florida and the rest of the country in his re-election campaign and seeking political allies for this month’s midterm elections.
They include restaurateurs, developers, restaurants, investment brokers, trucking magnates, health care executives, gas stations, convenience store owners and oil distributors, some of whom benefit from state board appointments and legislation approved by DeSantis. These include eliminating the state’s gas tax, increasing retailers’ commission on lottery sales, eliminating millions of dollars in Visit Florida advertising and lifting the state’s lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Not only have the ultra-rich given tens of millions of dollars in cash to the governor, but they’ve also made more than $500,000 in cash contributions toward transportation costs, according to an Orlando Sentinel review of state records.
That doesn’t include about $200,000 in transportation expenses covered by the Florida GOP. It does not include thousands of dollars in direct payments for hotels, commercial airline tickets and other travel expenses.
“It’s an old thing that campaign finances favor the governor and have special access to him,” said Ben Wilcox, director of research for the nonpartisan Integrity Florida.
“What we’ve seen is that business owners offer free flights, and then they fly or fly with the politician,” Wilcox said. “It’s an access you can’t buy. They don’t do it for good governance, they do it for leverage.
Aubrey Jewett, a political science professor at the University of Central Florida, agrees that this is a great way to “hear” a politician and reach more than the average voter.
The ruler travels a lot
DeSantis clearly loves to travel, as evidenced by the $145,000 he racked up in travel expenses while in Congress and the annual travel expenses paid for by Florida taxpayers. Domestic travel spending fell from $2 million in 2021 to $2.4 million in the 2022 fiscal year that ended June 30. Government aircraft you have used on 139 registered flights in the last 12 months.
The use of private jets is permitted under state campaign finance law if the candidate declares the cost as a campaign expense or in-kind contribution.
Campaign records filed with the state only provide the date of the contribution and whether it included transportation, lodging or food and beverages, but do not include details about the date or destination of the flights. So there’s no way DeSantis got to Pennsylvania to campaign for gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano, Arizona for Cary Lake or Las Vegas for Adam Laxalt, for example.
The records also do not specify how DeSantis traveled to Orlando in February to attend CPAC, considered a highly conservative convention summit , or other similar state and local political events. But the data shows those foreign events and in-kind transfer contributions reported on the same days as the CPAC conference.
“The lack of detail, privacy or transparency is a flaw in state campaign law by design,” Wilcox said. “The system should be designed so that there is complete transparency of how these dollars are used. Contributions such as air travel should be more specific and the dates and destinations of these trips should be shown, but there is no political will to close these loopholes.
The records provide at least a partial glimpse into the world of billionaires and millionaires who foot the governor’s travel bills.
Ralph “Larry” Roberts, founder of RLR Investments and R&L Carriers, an Ohio-based freight and freight company, and developer of the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, donated $275,000 in cash and $20,000 in carrying fees in October. . before the elections
One of his companies owns a Dassault Falcon 7X, a plane worth at least $18 million that seats 19 passengers. Other moneylenders also have private jets. Between them, they can amass a fleet of business jets worth tens of millions of dollars.
Another donor, Charles B. Johnson, founder of Franklin Templeton, owner of the San Francisco Giants and owner of two homes in Palm Beach, gave DeSantis $855,000 in cash and about $15,000 in transportation expenses.
Mori Hosseini, a Daytona Beach developer and University of Florida board chairman, gave DeSantis $280,000 in cash and about $17,000 in transportation expenses for his businesses.
Thomas Core, a Vero Beach resident and president and CEO of George E. Warren, the largest East Coast and Gulf oil importer, gave DeSantis $234,000 in cash and $19,260 in shipping charges. His company, TLC Leasing, provided an additional $5,169 for outside moving costs. Corr served on DeSantis’ first panel of hosts.
Maximo Alvarez, owner of Sunshine Gas Distribution in Doral, which has 360 gas stations, gave $135,000 in cash and $9,961 in shipping charges. DeSantis appointed Alvarez to the Florida State University Board of Trustees in 2021.
Aubrey Edge, president of First Coast Energy, one of the largest Shell gas stations in the United States, gave DeSantis $200,000 and about $31,000 in shipping costs. DeSantis appointed Edge to the university’s board of trustees in 2020.
Petrol stations were the main beneficiaries of the petrol tax in October. Gasoline retailers also won a 0.75% increase in the state’s lottery sales commission, which was inserted at the last minute at the end of the state budget bill without passing a bill with similar language.
The wording of this bill, Rep. Ana Maria Rodriguez, R-Miami, wrote Southern Strategy lobbyist Nelson Diaz, who has represented two clients on the bill: Sunshine Gasoline Distributors and the Florida Petroleum Dealers Association. Alvarez is on the Petroleum Merchants Association Legislative Committee, while Edge is on the Finance Committee.
Reducing costs?
According to the Aircraft Rental website, the cost of renting these planes ranges from $4,000 to $8,000 per flight hour. Donors can deduct cash donations, but under the Campaign Finance Act, applicants are only required to provide an estimate of the value of commercial airline tickets for travel on a similar route.
One potential ethical loophole, Wilcox said, is whether the governor’s policy office coordinates these thefts with campaign staff.
Campaign records show the campaign paid $15,000 to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement three times when the governor used the state jet for his campaign travel.
FDLE spokeswoman Gretel Plessinger said state planes belong to FDLE and are used for state business. “When used for a campaign event, the campaign must return an FDLE.”
No further details were released despite repeated requests to explain why the campaign should compensate the state.
DeSantis’ campaign did not respond to requests for comment. But campaign records show the dates of the payments were when the governor was traveling on official state business, indicating he was coordinating state affairs with campaign events.
Hosseini, who DeSantis appointed to the UF board of trustees in February 2021, has been instrumental in directing DeSantis’ controversial surgeon general, Joseph Ladabo, to a UF job.
UF’s new president, Ben Sassi, also chaired the search committee for Nebraska’s Republican United States Senator. Sassi attracted the attention of students and teachers for his conservative views.
Hosseini was able to use her plane to fly Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis from Tallahassee to Northeast Florida to attend a GOP political fundraiser for her husband’s campaign and an official event to promote a federal mental health grant, Politico told The Times.
It took close coordination between the governor’s office and First Lady DeSantis’ campaign staff to integrate the two, Politico reported.
The state Department of Transportation is building a $50 million ramp from Interstate 95 in Volusia County to access one of Hosseini’s housing projects.
“It’s probably a bit of a gray area,” Jewett said. “Everything seems perfectly legal according to the rules that have been established, but it can be a little gray because of the lack of transparency. This can raise questions about how much support is being given to the candidate and what they are getting in return. “
Daniel Smith, chair of the political science department at the University of Florida, acknowledged that lending the plane to DeSantis gives wealthy donors “time to reach out to a candidate and a potential candidate for the Republican presidential nomination.”
Smith said this type of access has a more personal touch than writing a six-figure check. “I think a lot of these owners want to know if it’s their plane or not.”
“He’s obviously willing to take anybody’s money,” Smith said of DeSantis. “What is the exchange?
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