Statement by Commissioner Nikki Fried on June Meeting of the Florida Cabinet

Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, an independently-elected member of the Florida Cabinet, offered the following statement regarding the June meeting of the Florida Cabinet:

“When I asked the Governor today for an update on a new Secretary of Environmental Protection for consideration by the Cabinet, he chose to instead defensively misquote state law. The law is very clear – three Cabinet members must agree with the Governor’s appointment, in addition to confirmation by the Florida Senate. The Governor is obligated to follow the law – but it’s also clear he will use our laws to punish anyone with whom he disagrees. The rule passed today implementing HB 1 continues a disturbing pattern of Tallahassee bullying local governments into submission. We all support our law enforcement officers and the difficult job they do – but this is hypocritical interference with cities and counties managing their budgets and doing their jobs. The Governor knows this, having said in 2018, ‘I reject the idea that government bureaucrats in a faraway capital could plan our lives better than we could plan them ourselves.’ Yet the so-called party of small government is once again telling the government closest to the people what they can’t do with their own money. The Governor should ask himself who is really the big government bureaucrat in the faraway capital. Meanwhile, my Cabinet colleagues sided today with developers on a controversial billion-dollar road project that will harm Everglades restoration and risk wildlife, agricultural lands, and Miami-Dade’s water supply, while not adequately reducing urban sprawl. As today’s lone vote against this project, I agree with environmental advocates like the Audubon Society and Sierra Club that this plan won’t move Florida forward.”

Background: 20.255(1), Florida Statutes, states that “the head of the Department of Environmental Protection shall be a secretary, who shall be appointed by the Governor, with the concurrence of three members of the Cabinet. The secretary shall be confirmed by the Florida Senate.” Appointment of an FDEP Secretary therefore cannot bypass the Florida Cabinet, as the Governor suggested. Administration Commission item 1 on the Cabinet agenda implements HB 1, a priority bill of the Governor which has faced fierce, heated criticism for harming freedom of speech, bypassed Senate committee accountability, and has triggered a federal lawsuit against the state. Administration Commission item 2 was to accept an administrative law judge’s recommended order against a proposed extension of State Road 836, known as the Dolphin Expressway, in Miami-Dade County. Cabinet members voted 3-1 to reject the judge’s order; Commissioner Fried voted to accept the judge’s order.

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