TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) — A mysterious $10 million donation to ‘Hope Florida’ has state lawmakers further investigating the program itself, citing legal issues with the transfer of money.

The program ‘Hope Florida’, led by Florida’s First Lady Casey DeSantis, is at the center of a fiery debate. House Representatives are looking deeper into the transfer of a $10 million settlement. However, Governor Ron DeSantis says this has nothing to do with Hope Florida and its mission.
DeSantis shared with Floridians at a press conference in Miami, Florida Thursday that members of the Florida legislature have a political agenda and warned folks not to fall for the “political nonsense.”

“The AHCA settlement is something that is totally separate from Hope Florida, but the AHCA settlement was 100% appropriate, they negotiated a very good deal, and it served the state very very well,” said DeSantis.

On the road to seek answers on what the $10 million was used for, Hope Florida is facing scrutiny over its relationship with the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration, AHCA.
This week House members shared that in a $67 million settlement last year, AHCA wanted $57 million of that, and Hope Florida got the $10 million leftover.

Lawmakers claim this was a creative way to transfer funds without the legislature knowing.

State Representative Alex Andrade, (R-Pensacola), grilled Shevaun L. Harris, AHCA Secretary, about the settlement, trying to get to the bottom of how ‘Hope Florida’ is receiving and using its funds.

“What are y’all doing with the $10 million?” said Rep. Andrade.

“That is a question for the foundation,” responded Secretary Harris.

Andrade fired back, “That is a question for AHCA, they directed the payment.”

“The payment was made by Centene to the foundation, where the money went is a question to the foundation,” said Harris.

“That was a policy decision made by AHCA that I believe was illegal, that was a policy decision made, and what I am hearing from the Secretary of AHCA is we have no idea what the money was to be used for, and we have no idea why we did it. That’s not acceptable Secretary,” said Andrade.

“Mr. Chair, I think it’s unfortunate that we are succumbing to some of these unfortunate attacks,” responded Hariss.

Secretary Harris added that this was a pre-lawsuit settlement, and the legislature didn’t need to know this information.

After two heated hours of back and forth, Harris took to X calling the committee meeting performative and shameful.

“Once we got up there to speak, it was clear it was an ambush and attack on Hope Florida,” said Harris.

However, state lawmakers argue otherwise, as they continue to search for answers to how the $10 million was spent.

“Obviously, we have more work to do,” said Rep. Andrade

When asked about House members investigation into the issue, House Speaker Danny Perez, (R-Miami) says lawmakers are seeking accountability and transparency from a non-profit that receives state funds and has legislation moving through the statehouse this session.

Reporters followed up, asking Speaker Perez whether or not the 10-million-dollar transfer was legal.

Speaker Perez said, “So far it looks as though it could be illegal, I only state that because we were never notified of those 10 million dollars.”

There is a Senate bill that’s floating in the statehouse right now that would make Hope Florida a permanent part of state government. SB 1144 has triggered questions around the settlement and the programs funds as it makes its way through the legislature.