TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A top legislative leader wants the state to buy a new plane for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis after a scare upended the governor’s travel plans.
Florida used to have two planes that could be used by state officials, but former Gov. Rick Scott ordered them sold. Scott, a multimillionaire, instead used his own personal jet to travel.
DeSantis this week was using a plane that belonged to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and was seized during a drug bust.
Mechanical problems on Friday, however, forced an emergency landing of the plane in St. Petersburg. The state chartered a plane so that DeSantis could make it to Fort Lauderdale for a press conference.
Florida House Speaker Jose Oliva said the size of the state and the incident shows the need for DeSantis to have “safe and reliable means of transportation.”
