Gov. Ron DeSantis’ decision to charter a flight that transported about 50 migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts was illegal under the Florida Constitution, according to a lawsuit filed by a Democrat Florida state senator.
Sen. Jason Pizzo (D-North Miami Beach) filed the Sept. 22 lawsuit in the Second Judicial Circuit in Leon County as a taxpayer and resident rather than an elected official. The complaint argues that the appropriation of state funds by the state Department of Transportation to Vertol Systems Company Inc. did not conform to Florida law.
Tallahassee attorney Mark Herron said the basis of the lawsuit challenging a $950,000 payment to Vertol Systems was twofold.
“One is that in enacting the funding for the program, the Legislature included two subjects within the (2022) General Appropriations Act, which is prohibited by the state constitution,” Herron told the Florida Record. “Therefore, that provision should be stricken.”
In addition, he said, the specific appropriation was for the purpose of removing unauthorized aliens from Florida. In this case, the migrants were taken from the San Antonio area and flown to Massachusetts after a brief stopover in the Florida panhandle.
The Department of Transportation also did not follow state rules on competitive bidding, according to Herron.
“The department was supposed to get at least two competitive bids, and it appears that there weren’t any,” he said.
State officials have defended their actions leading to the Sept. 14 flight, saying that it was paid for through a $12 million taxpayer-funded “relocation program.” Critics, however, have said that the fund as outlined by the Legislature applies only to “unauthorized aliens” in Florida – as opposed to the asylum-seekers who were flown out of Texas.
The legal battle will proceed on an expedited basis once a case-management conference with the parties is scheduled, according to Herron.
“Our process server hasn't been able to serve the Department of Transportation yet, and we’re waiting for that so we can inform the court that all parties have been served,” he said.
The lawsuit seeks to enjoin Florida officials from making additional contracts or expenditures aimed at transporting unauthorized aliens into the state.