GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida’s Legislature has killed efforts that would have allowed political candidates in the state to pay for babysitters and other child care expenses using money from campaign donors.
Lawmakers in committee hearings voted unanimously for the Senate bill even as they raised questions about whether it needed tighter guardrails on such spending. The bills didn’t include limits on such spending or restrict expenses to political candidates who weren’t millionaires.
The bills would have allowed candidates in Florida to use campaign donations for child care when candidates were canvassing, meeting with donors and future constituents, or attending political debates. Currently in Florida, it is illegal to use campaign donations to defray normal living expenses for the candidate and the candidate’s family.
In 2018, the Federal Election Commission released an opinion that allowed federal campaign funds to be used for candidate childcare expenses incurred by a congressional candidate.
Florida’s version would have required candidates to maintain receipts and invoices from eligible childcare providers and proof of payments for at least three years after the campaign has ended. Candidates would also have needed to disclose the use of campaign funds for childcare on their campaign finance reports.
Sen. Lori Berman, D-Boynton Beach, the new minority leader, was the sponsor of the Senate version of the bill. She confirmed Wednesday the proposals were dead in the Legislature this year. Rep. Kelly Skidmore, D-Boca Raton, sponsored the House bill, which never got a committee hearing or vote.
“This is just one way in which we can encourage families, young families, to participate in democracy by allowing them to use campaign funds that they raise specifically for child care related to the campaign,” Skidmore said. “It's not to give something to people who already have it. That is, that is a certainty on my part, but it does open the opportunity up to more people, and that's what I'm after.”
Berman said the proposals earned bipartisan support in interim votes.
Rodney Jacobs of Miramar was a 35-year-old progressive candidate who ran during the 2024 primaries for Senate in Florida’s District 35 with his two sons and wife while she was pregnant with their third child. Jacobs raised nearly $100,000 for his campaign. He reported on campaign paperwork having a net worth of minus $305,000, including a $440,000 mortgage and $478,000 in student loans.
Jacobs ran on a platform of lowering insurance premiums for homes, making food more affordable and improving education in Broward County.
“I think a lot of people became sick and tired of being sick and tired with the same old, same old,” Jacobs said. “I think it was really important to kind of lean into these moments … create policy that's about real issues and not fabricated ridiculousness.”
Jacobs said it could be helpful to let candidates use campaign funds for child care, but donors may want to see their contributions go towards tangible change in their district.
“I'd imagine people could say, well, your kids or your family life has a direct effect on how well you do with the campaign, but I understand why an individual corporation wants to see some level of utility directly tied to [campaign promotion]. I definitely empathize with that perspective as well, very deeply.”
In central Florida, Jon Arguello of Kissimmee ran a conservative campaign for Florida’s Senate District 25 in the primaries with his wife and five children. He said the proposal was promising but said candidates are often groomed by lobbyists and corporations, not working class citizens who might need help paying for child care.
Arguello, a former member of the Osceola County School Board, listed his net worth on campaign paperwork as minus $169,606, including nearly $275,000 in unpaid student loans.
“The reality of politics is that they are picked, they are cultivated, they are helped and that they're placed in these positions,” Arguello said.
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This story was produced by Fresh Take Florida, a news service of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. The reporter can be reached at landerson2l@freshtakeflorida.com. You can donate to support our students here.