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Plan Would Allow Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez To Be Based In Miami

TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) - At the request of Gov. Ron DeSantis, a legislative plan would allow Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez to be headquartered in Miami, where she resides, and use public dollars to go back and forth to Tallahassee.

"In addition to her duties representing Gov. DeSantis, Lt. Gov. Nuñez has an important portfolio that oversees Florida's health care and Space Florida, which requires extensive travel around the state," said Helen Aguirre Ferre, a spokeswoman for the governor's office.

Nuñez's time in Tallahassee is not expected to be "diminished" with her office being based in Miami, the spokeswoman added.

The Senate has included language in its proposed budget that would allow Nuñéz to tap into a $2.6 million pot of money to cover travel reimbursements between her "official headquarters and the State Capitol."

The budget language does not mean that the entire lump sum is dedicated to those expenses.

The $2.6 million would be spent at the direction of DeSantis' office and was included in the Senate budget proposal at the request of the governor's office, said Katie Betta, a Senate spokeswoman.

Other staff in the governor's office could also use the money to cover costs such as office space, utilities and equipment rentals.

Nuñéz would not be able to use public funds to lease an office in Miami, according to House and Senate proposals.

Since the 2017-2018 fiscal year, the Legislature has provided the governor's office with $2.6 million to cover the types of expenses, according to the governor's spokeswoman.

(©2019 CBS Local Media. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The News Service of Florida's contributed to this report.)

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