Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet have agreed to meet four times in 2024, a slightly lighter schedule than in 2023.
Meeting by phone, DeSantis, Attorney General Ashley Moody, Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, and Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson approved a schedule that includes Cabinet meetings on March 26, June 11, Sept. 24 and Dec. 17. They also are expected to meet in their role as the state clemency board on March 27, June 12, Sept. 25 and Dec. 18.
The meeting marked their fifth Cabinet meeting this year. DeSantis and the Cabinet last met in person on May 23. The only other in-person meeting was on Jan. 17. Other meetings were held by phone. DeSantis, Moody and Patronis also held a call on Sept. 18 in their role as trustees of the State Board of Administration.
By comparison, when then-Gov. Rick Scott, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi, then-CFO Jeff Atwater and then-Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam first entered office in 2011, they met 18 times that year.
During the next six years, the governor and Cabinet met between 11 and 15 times annually. Patronis replaced Atwater in 2017. In 2018, the Cabinet held nine meetings, including two teleconferences. Under former Gov. Charlie Crist and former Gov. Jeb Bush, the Cabinet met about 20 times a year.
