The House State Administration Budget Subcommittee is scrutinizing money spent on the comings and goings of Lottery Secretary John Davis.

The panel reviewed itemized travel costs of more than $50,000 between January 2021 and November 2024. Many of the trips were personal appearances, site visits and speaking gigs, though conference travel took him to Paris last October.

Chair Vicki Lopez, who wondered last week how “the Department in the state of Florida benefit by having the secretary in Paris away from day-to-day operations for so long,” contextualized the data in terms of the previous committee meeting, in which they wondered where Davis lived.

“Reimbursements are provided for planes, trains and automobiles. The Secretary’s total travel from January of 2021 through November of 2024 was over $50,000,” Lopez said.

“We’ve also provided a document for the travel that includes Orlando as part of the destination. These trips alone cost $27,840. Many of the destinations are simply Orlando and the transportation used is his personal vehicle, for which he is getting reimbursed. While we don’t know the originating city, it appears to indicate that the secretary is being reimbursed to commute home from Tallahassee to Orlando.”

The data leaves further open questions.

“The Secretary told us last week he would get his travel information back to us. We look forward to that response and hope it includes information regarding all the travel in this document,” Lopez added.

“I also want to note that we are not able to find any reimbursements made after November of 2024. We don’t know if he stopped getting reimbursed for travel, stopped traveling, or if this is a delay in information being posted. So I think the subcommittee would like to know any additional travel information for the last four months as well.”

As 12 News reported last week, lawmakers in the same committee scrutinized members of a Department of Management Services “enterprise cybersecurity data” group getting more than $56,000 in travel expenses. It was revealed then that Chief Data Officer Edward Rhyne lives out of state, and more than $40,000 was spent on his travel.

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Small-scale beer manufacturers may be able to skip the middleman when it comes to getting lagers, ales and stouts to the masses.

The House State Administration Budget Subcommittee has advanced HB 499, which allows microbreweries producing up to 31,000 gallons a year to self-distribute and to get out of current distribution contracts with 24 months’ notice.

The bill is a priority of the Brewers’ Association, which says it is also a priority of House leadership.

Advocates say that it’s no brew-ha-ha; rather, they frame it as a matter of business survival.

Sarah Curl of Pasco County’s Emerald Coast Brewing Company made a more localized case, noting that her company’s “small and intentional” production leaves it out of larger distributors’ business plans.

“Nobody cares more about the quality of their beer than a small-craft brewer,” Curl said.

Her goal: to be able to walk a keg to a restaurant down the street rather than have that same keg languish on a truck to fit the current “outdated, post-prohibition laws” that block local restaurants from serving local brews on tap.

Veteran brewmaster Timothy Shackton of the Ulele Spring Brewery likewise advocated for “limited self-distribution,” saying it benefited “small brewers” and the “community as a whole,” and arguing the proposal could “level the playing field.”

“Right now, many small brewers face a tough choice: sign long-term contracts with distributors and commit to large capacity orders that financially squeeze them or, worse yet, they’re unable to fulfill. Those demands can be crippling,” Shackton said.

Danielle Snitkar of Florida Hoppy Brands advocated for a coalition of microbreweries that are “not in a position to go with a large distributor” given limited production runs and lack of capital to buy into the three-tier system.

Brian Detweiler of the Florida Brewers Guild said the bill “could be the difference between your constituents keeping and losing part of their community: their beloved local brewery.” He described the bill as a “bridge to the three-tier system” by a “small, scrappy brewery,” and noted that 39 states already allow what Florida is considering.

Yet members of other groups presented more of a bitter beer face.

Jared Ross of the Florida Beer Wholesalers Association said his group “strongly opposes” the bill, which “goes too far” and threatens the “three-tier system” of manufacturers/importers, distributors/wholesalers, and retailers by “allowing smaller manufacturers to self-distribute.”

After the public had its say, legislators weighed in pro and con.

Republican Rep. Taylor Yarkosky said the “awesome” bill was a way to “empower and open the door” for small producers.

Republican Rep. Shane Abbott welcomed further “tweaks,” but backed the bill.

Democratic Rep. Felicia Robinson urged legislators to be “careful” about how rules are changed, expressing her concern that “all players play within the system.” While she was up on the bill, she was concerned about tinkering with the regulation of alcoholic beverages.

While the legislation has one committee to go before the House floor, the Senate may offer a buzzkill. Sen. Jay Collins’ bill (SB 1818) has yet to be put on a committee agenda.

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