Florida House wants to freeze DMS Secretary's salary amid accountability concerns
James Call- A House panel wants to withhold the salary of Department of Management Services Secretary Pedro Allende until he answers questions about the department's finances and operations.
- The committee also passed a bill stripping DMS of leasing authority at the Capitol Complex after a dispute over office space previously used by Sen. Marco Rubio.
- Lopez stated that the committee's actions are part of a broader effort to hold unelected state bureaucrats accountable and restore the House's role in overseeing state spending.
A Florida House panel intends to withhold the pay of a key state agency head – until he answers a few things about how he's spending public tax dollars.
"These are not overly complex questions," said Rep. Vicki Lopez, the Miami Republican who chairs the State Administration Committee, about Department of Management Services (DMS) Secretary Pedro Allende, who's paid $210,842 a year.
"Not a dime (of his salary) will be released until he answers," Lopez said at a Thursday hearing of a proviso written into the House's proposed budget for DMS.
That's easier said than done: What would amount to an effective furlough for the head of the department that serves as the state’s human resources and property manager wouldn’t begin until July 1, when the next state budget goes into effect.
And it assumes the entire Legislature agrees and Gov. Ron DeSantis, Allende's boss, signs the spending plan.
Lopez's committee writes the budget for DMS and 11 other executive agencies under DeSantis. She said her marching orders from House Speaker Daniel Perez were clear: “Hold unelected state bureaucrats accountable” and restore the House’s “institutional role” as a check on spending abuses.
To that end, Lopez has led the committee on a deep dive into DMS’s $1.1 billion budget unlike any performed on an executive branch agency since DeSantis’ election in 2018.
It’s part of a pattern that has emerged this session: Lawmakers overriding DeSantis' budget vetoes, rejecting his call for a special session, forcing a compromise on an immigration enforcement plan.
For instance, as part of budget writing exercises, Lopez grilled Allende on the lack of transparency and accountability under his leadership.
She criticized the department’s use of out-of-state employees, its spending tens of thousands of dollars on travel and an inability to account for some 2,200 vehicles the department is supposed to have, according to an auditor general’s report.
"It’s his job to know. Those cars are worth over $57 million and Secretary Allende has no plan to count the state’s vehicles and report back to the Legislature,” Lopez said.
The department shot back in a thread on the X platform Thursday night, saying in part, "Contrary to what was said today, the Department has worked diligently to address all concerns raised by the committee from the very beginning of Session."
But Lopez said Allende has shown no interest in working with lawmakers on a host of financial issues, including how he plans to deal with a projected $237 million deficit in the state employees' health insurance trust fund, and why after $60 million in repairs the Capitol’s underground garages are still leaking.
Withholding Allende’s salary is a message to other department heads, Lopez said: "And for those that didn't give answers, this is in fact how we are going to get answers."
To underscore the committee’s lack of faith in DMS, it also OK'd a bill stripping the department of leasing authority at the Capitol.
The proposal emerged after Allende last week could not explain why he cancelled the House's lease on a suite of offices on the Capitol’s 21st floor. It had been used by former Florida House Speaker and later U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, now the U.S. Secretary of State.
After the meeting, Lopez said it appears that Allende – who manages the Tallahassee-based department from Miami – “does not know what’s actually going on.”
Politico has reported current U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody, appointed by DeSantis to replace Rubio, had wanted to use Rubio’s former office but the House had other plans. DMS then cancelled the House lease. (Moody had happened to have sided with DeSantis in the recent DeSantis vs. the Legislature power tussle over immigration.)
When asked why she pushed the bill, Lopez said DMS had cancelled the lease without any advance notice. “When it comes to our office space, enough with you people. You’ve demonstrated we’re not secure here.” The budget recommendation passed unanimously.
James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com and is on X as @CallTallahassee.