When a hurricane approaches Florida, the state prioritizes rapidly deploying resources to high-risk areas.

Emergency supplies, first responder teams, and evacuation plans are coordinated based on real-time or near-real-time data flowing into the State Emergency Operations Center. Following the hurricane, the focus shifts to recovery, including processing thousands of invoices for supplies and services to ensure communities receive aid. Leaders at all levels rely on accurate and efficient data to make these critical decisions.

The Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) is modernizing its operations to enhance data usage, enabling a swifter emergency response while responsibly managing taxpayer funds. This includes developing a robust data collection and analysis system and a machine-learning tool for detecting unusual invoices.

“Slalom is proud to partner with such an innovative agency that directly addresses the challenges faced by our citizens, businesses, and communities in the aftermath of a hurricane or other emergencies,” said Beau Williamson, Florida General Manager of Slalom, a technology consulting firm collaborating with FDEM since Hurricane Ian.

The data platform, built on cloud infrastructure, underpins the analytics FDEM needs for decision-making and operational efficiency. Key components include:

• Centralized data platform: Integrates and securely stores information from the Division of Emergency Management Solution (DEMES) and other sources.

• Data governance strategy: Establishes rules and guidelines to ensure data clarity, accuracy, and accessibility.

• Advanced analytics: Provides end-user tools that unlock significant value, including finance and procurement dashboards, invoice anomaly detection, and GenAI for disaster declarations.

Invoice anomaly detection

The invoice anomaly detector is a vital part of FDEM’s data platform, designed to identify and mitigate financial risks by spotting anomalies in the invoice payment process. The detector:

• Identifies and interprets various types of invoice discrepancies with over 99% accuracy.

• Upholds the state’s commitment to financial integrity by quickly detecting and addressing unusual invoices.

• Streamlines the invoice process for faster resolution and improved resource allocation.

In its first 30 days of deployment, the anomaly detector identified three significant invoice irregularities totaling nearly $600,000. It analyzes historical invoice data to identify trends and deviations, training a machine learning model to differentiate between normal and abnormal invoice behavior. When an anomaly is detected, the system sends notifications for further review. Ongoing enhancements aim to optimize financial operations and advance invoice anomaly detection.

Transformative Insights

Data is crucial for leaders tasked with protecting and serving Floridians before, during, and after a disaster. By leveraging advanced analytics and machine learning, FDEM has transitioned from manual information collection to a modern, data-driven approach. This shift significantly enhances their ability to analyze and act on transformative insights rather than spending time sorting through unstructured data from multiple sources.

Florida is at the forefront of technology, emergency management, and financial integrity. These advancements empower FDEM’s workforce to effectively fulfill its mission and support Florida’s economy after a disaster.

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The House Democratic caucus is already the smallest in Florida history. Now, one member said he’s not welcome in the House Minority Office after voting for a Republican bill.

Rep. Jose Alvarez surprised many in attendance at a March 6 subcommittee hearing when the Kissimmee Democrat backed petition-gathering restrictions (HB 1205). That included House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, who showed up at the end of the hearing to discuss the lawmaker’s vote. And by Alvarez’s recollection, the tone was combative from the start.

“It was very disrespectful of her to speak to another member of the House that way,” Alvarez said, “for someone who calls herself a leader, to disrespect me in front of that, to tell me I vote whichever way she wants me to vote. I’ve been in public office long enough to know never to tell people to do a vote.”

Driskell recalls the conversation otherwise. She said it surprised her to see a Democratic member support the Republican-sponsored bill, which would impose a $1-million bond before sponsors of a constitutional amendment can pass out petitions, among other things. The bill cleared the House Government Operations Subcommittee on a 14-4 vote. It would have been a party-line vote but for Alvarez casting his lot with the bill’s supporters.

But Driskell said more than a member voting out of line, she was concerned the vote came from nowhere.

“Part of the culture we are trying to develop here is, we understand the part in some ways is a coalition, and we may not vote the same on every bill,” Driskell said. “What I ask is that people let us know.”

It wasn’t just members. Lobbyists working against the bill said Alvarez indicated he would be down on the bill. It wasn’t until Alvarez made remarks as part of debate that he would support the bill advancing from committee.

“If I were to just vote my particular political party beliefs in one point, I would have leaned in a different direction. But then I sat there with a clear and open mind, just as an American citizen that loves this country, that gave me democracy, that gave me an opportunity that I didn’t have,” Alvarez said during debate. “The more I read about this bill, the more I see that really what this bill is doing is protecting the state of Florida.”

It was that speech that prompted Driskell, a Tampa Democrat, to show up in the last minutes of the committee vote. Several at the meeting, including allies of the Leader, said she wanted to speak with Alvarez immediately about the vote.

Driskell doesn’t typically show up at committee hearings to dress down members about their votes. But multiple sources in the room said Driskell questioned Alvarez about why he changed his position without giving any colleagues a heads up.

“Rep. Alvarez didn’t really want to talk,” Driskell said.

Alvarez said he felt no obligation, and nobody had told him the caucus wanted him to vote against the bill, not that such direction would dictate his vote. Driskell confirmed as much, and said leadership at the caucus and committee level were not whipping votes.

One lawmaker present said Driskell “berated” Alvarez. But other witnesses say it was Alvarez who raised his voice, and that Driskell spoke quietly and tried to move the conversation to a break room. Both Driskell and Alvarez said it was the other party who turned the conversation into a confrontation.

Those close to Driskell said she wanted to take the conversation to a breakroom but Alvarez said he had another pressing meeting, so the conversation unfolded in the committee room and spilled into the hallway.

Driskell said Alvarez at one point told the Sergeant-at-Arms present “this woman is trying to block me from getting to a meeting.”

“He knows my name,” Driskell said.

Alvarez acknowledges telling the Sergeant-at-Arms that Driskell was preventing him from leaving, and that until he did so, she was physically blocking his exit from the room. After that, the two left and the argument continued until he reached an elevator.

That was when Driskell told Alvarez he was kicked out of the caucus, by his account.

“She said I would not step foot inside the caucus office again,” Alvarez said. “Fine. I’m not planning to. I am a proud Democrat, and will remain a Democrat, but I don’t want back in that office with the so-called leadership they have. I don’t work that way.”

Driskell, however, said Alvarez hasn’t been booted from the caucus.

“I was told he didn’t want to step foot in the caucus again, but he is not banned,” she said. He remains on email lists and is still listed on the Florida House website as a Democrat.

And Alvarez said he remains more of a Democrat than some colleagues, citing his work as a Housing and Urban Development regional director under President Joe Biden.

“I will continue to run my seat from my office,” Alvarez said. “You come here and try and get work done, and that’s what you concentrate on. This is not my profession. I work for a living. I was more shocked to be listening to this lady more than anything else. I lost all respect for her.”

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Former Vice President Mike Pence is visiting his former boss’ home county this week to keynote a noon event and field questions from attendees.

He’s headlining a luncheon hosted by the nonprofit Forum Club of the Palm Beaches on Friday as part of a seasonal, yearly series of high-profile guests of varying political views.

The event is already sold out, but virtual tickets are still available.

Pence is heading into what some may view as enemy territory. Since his falling out with Donald Trump in January 2021 that culminated in supporters of the President calling for him to be hanged outside the U.S. Capitol, Pence hasn’t been shy about criticizing the nation’s top executive official.

Last month, he posted an article he wrote more than a decade ago about the limits of presidential power after Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that “He who saves his country does not violate any Law.”

He’s also been delivering speeches urging the President to stand with longstanding foreign allies and lobbying members of Congress while aides write letters and opinion columns.

Pence and those who work with him at Advancing American Freedom, his political advocacy group, stress they are not looking to take on the “Never Trump” mantle. They intend to praise the administration when they agree with it, while raising concerns when they don’t, advocating for longtime conservative principles that have fallen out of favor as Trump’s “Make America Great Again” brand of populism has taken hold.

“We’re calling balls and strikes here,” Pence told The Associated Press.

Pence will join a list of past Forum Club speakers who CEO Sarah Elwell described as coming from a “broad variety of industries and viewpoints.”

All speakers are unpaid, and audience queries are reviewed in advance to ensure they are fair, appropriate and “represent a diversity of questions.” Speeches last about 30 minutes. The event runs for an hour.

Past speakers have included former President Jimmy Carter, U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney and forgery expert Frank Abagnale, and more recent presenters like former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, former U.S. Attorney General William Barr.

Next month, former U.S. Secretary of State Alejandro Mayorkas and Douglas Ginsburg, Senior Circuit Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., are scheduled to speak at separate events.

Tickets to Friday’s event at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, located less than 4 miles from Mar-a-Lago, ranged from $55 for members and $80 for guests to $700 for a 10-seat table.

Virtual tickets are $25 for members and $30 for non-members.

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Material from The Associated Press was used in this report. Republished with permission.

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