TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A judge ruled Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis didn’t violate the law when he stopped taking federal money to provide additional unemployment benefits.
A group of unemployed Floridians sued DeSantis over his decision to stop using $300 a week in federal COVID-19 relief money to supplement the state’s unemployment benefits.
The extra benefit for Floridians ended June 26, ahead of the Sept. 6 expiration set by the federal government.
But Circuit Judge J. Layne Smith ruled Monday that the state wasn’t required to use the money. He also questioned how the benefits would be applied retroactively.