Free Republic

Another state on Thursday announced that it would begin divesting its assets currently managed by investment giant BlackRock, accusing it of “[leaning] heavily into Environmental, Social, and Governance standards.” “As Florida’s chief financial officer, it’s my responsibility to get the best returns possible for taxpayers. The more effective we are in investing dollars to generate a return, the more effective we’ll be in funding priorities like schools, hospitals, and roads,” Jimmy Patronis, Florida’s chief financial officer, said in a press release. The divestment will involve “$2 billion worth of assets,” according to the statement. “As major banking institutions and economists...

This week, Florida Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis sent a letter to U.S. Transportation (DOT) Sec. Pete Buttigieg requesting the federal government work to mitigate the threat of electric vehicles (EVs) following Hurricane Ian, which caused salty storm surge waters to be shoved into the Southwest Florida coast. The CFO’s letter asks U.S. DOT to take a more proactive role in identifying storm impacted EVs and getting them off the roads, out of salvage yards and away from the general public to prevent fires. The State Fire Marshal’s Office has confirmed 16 EV fires occurred as a result of...

In the wake of Hurricane Ian, Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis is expressing new concern over electric vehicles. He penned a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sounding alarms on the dangerous mix of lithium batteries and storm surge. Patronis, whose duties include state Fire Marshal, said the administration needs to assess fire risks associated with saltwater on electric vehicles. In the meantime, he said fire teams need more support to deal with an “inevitable” increase in fires associated with electric-powered automobiles. He sent a copy of the letter to Rep. Frank Pallone, Chair of the House Energy...

On Wednesday, Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis issued a statement claiming that he would work with Florida lawmakers to penalize credit card companies like Visa and MasterCard should they apply a new sales code to distinguish firearm purchases at U.S. gun stores. The announcement follows claims in the media that Visa, MasterCard, and American Express will create a new merchant category code for gun sellers. According to gun control advocates, the new sales code provides banks and credit card firms with tools to identify irregular patterns of purchases, such as a potential mass shooter stockpiling weapons and ammunition and...