In the wake of Governor Ron DeSantis’ continuous emergency declaration regarding a perceived ‘border crisis,’ the state’s financial review agency has yet refrained from performing audits on any of the expenditures and contracts assigned under this directive for more than two years. Given that state legislation mandates such assessments particularly when an emergency is prolonged past a year, there should have been at least two yearly audits considering the original declaration was established in January 2023.
The non-existence of a unified storage for said contracts and invoices along with staff shortage is highlighted by the auditor general as reasons for the absence of audits. Meanwhile, lawmakers from all parties express dismay at this development, in the backdrop of growing concerns surrounding the deficit in transparency and scrutiny over the vast amounts being paid to independent contractors for construction of the migrant detention center, known as Alligator Alcatraz, positioned in the Everglades heartland.
Upon its completion, this facility is predicted to accommodate as many as 3,000 detainees per day, costing the state approximately $450 million annually. State Representative Anna Eskamani from Orlando, alongside several other democratic legislators currently partaking in a lawsuit against the state due to being forbidden from assessing the makeshift encampment on the Tamiami Trail recently, cites the lack of supervision as evidence of the public’s ingrained cynicism towards the administration.
Initially, DeSantis’ proclamation of a statewide emergency on illegal immigration, enacted mere days following his second term inauguration, granted him the authority to mobilize the Florida National Guard, Florida Highway Patrol, Fish and Wildlife officers, and additional resources to the border between Texas and Mexico.
This regulation was further extended more than a dozen times in 60-day intervals. Citing ‘a substantial influx and presence of unauthorized immigrants’ remaining within Florida as the cause, DeSantis once more lengthened the order for another 60-day period on June 2. His declaration was that this enduring crisis was burdening local resources and necessitating extended coordination and resource allocation from the state.
Hard on the heels of the governor’s sign-off on this extension, the Everglades detention center project was initiated. State administrators accessed an emergency response fund, sanctioned for DeSantis’ usage at his own judgment by the Legislature years back.
As per the law, it is succinctly articulated: ‘In situations where an emergency surpasses a year, the Auditor General must undertake a financial review of all corresponding expenses and a compliance assessment of all associated contracts formalized during the declared emergency.’ The law also stipulates that ‘The Auditor General needs to revise the audit annually until the emergency is officially declared over.’
But according to Derrick Noonan, who serves as a spokesperson for the Auditor General, there exist no audit reports that solely concentrate on emergency expenditures. He elaborates that the law, which was actually enacted in 2021, ‘implicitly covered every expense and contract pursued on a state level under an emergency order’.
Moving forward, the department’s strategy would be to audit these contracts and expenses as they are reported to the Legislature, mentioned Noonan. Out of the total, the auditor general inspected 29 of such expenditures equating to $1.175 million and acknowledged that they were justifiable and necessary.
Nonetheless, other specifics related to the audits are regarded as confidential discussions and hence, are not accessible or open to public record.