In this episode: In mid-June, just a few hours before Florida’s Republican-controlled Legislature finalized this year’s state budget, GOP leaders in Tallahassee slipped a sentence into the spending plan authorizing state officials to acquire a piece of property in the Panhandle through a popular land-preservation program. Three months later, the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis used that little line in the budget to spend $83.3 million in taxpayer money on a tiny spit of vacant land owned by a prominent real-estate developer and Republican Party donor. Here’s the story of how Florida politicians pulled off a land deal that one longtime conservation leader called “a sham.”

Editor’s note: A written version of this story first appeared in the Seeking Rents newsletter: Florida lawmakers took instructions from a landowner’s lobbyist. Now Florida taxpayers will pay $83 million for four acres.

Show notes

For further reading:

Lobbyist wrote proposal directing Florida to buy pricey 4 acres in Destin (Tampa Bay Times)

‘A sham’: Florida’s longtime conservation experts question pricey 4-acre Destin purchase (Tampa Bay Times)

State senator promotes Destin waterfront land purchase added late in budget talks (Politico Florida)

$83 million for sandy Florida lot: Did GOP donations pay off for seller? (Orlando Sentinel)

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