Florida’s bipartisan Senate Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee has just approved a bill that seeks to shield Governor Ron DeSantis’ travel records from the general public.

SB 1616 allows Florida’s Governor, the governor’s close family, visiting governors, and others state officials to be exempt from disclosing their travel records.

Currently, Florida has several “sunshine laws” which permit the general public to request travel logs of state officials.

The new bill attempts to amend state statute 943.68, that requires records of the Governor’s transportation and protective services to be disclosed to the public.

Members of the Florida Legislature moved this week to shield Gov. Ron DeSantis’s travel records from the public, proposing to change the state’s public information laws just as the governor ramps up what is expected to be a 2024 presidential campaign. https://t.co/lLFrsGeqA5

— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 24, 2023

The bill has come around the same time both Republicans and Democrats are requesting DeSantis to disclose details regarding who he traveled with during his recent book tour.

Citing an increase in public records requests for the governor’s travel schedule, Florida legislators are advancing a bill that would shield from the public any information about how and where Ron DeSantis and other state officials go https://t.co/5FsBtrv5cS

— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) March 23, 2023

Per The Tampa Bay Times:

Citing an increase in public records requests for the governor’s travel schedule, Florida legislators are advancing a bill that would shield from the public any information about how and where Gov. Ron DeSantis and other state officials go.

The bill would impose the first-ever public records exemption for the transportation records held by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the agency that handles the governor’s security.

The exemption would take effect retroactively, prohibiting anyone from scrutinizing how DeSantis has used his state travel in the past and as he prepares for a likely campaign for the Republican nomination for president.

The Bill passed unanimously passed the Senate committee 8-0 and a companion bill was passed by the House Ethics, Elections and Open Government Subcommittee 17-0.

The post New Florida Bill Seeks to Shield Ron DeSantis’ Travel Records appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Guest post by Victor Nieves

In a recent tweet Rumble announced that they will soon bring vertical short form video content to the platform. This new format will rival competitors like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts all of which have been extremely successful.

UPDATE: Rumble short vertical videos (to compete against TikTok), is expected to arrive in April.

These shorts will live in the Mobile App top carousel and in the Discovery areas when it’s released. We are working hard at bringing this feature.

— Rumble – $RUM (@rumblevideo) March 24, 2023

TikTok alone boasts an astonishing 1 billion monthly active users with YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels each putting up similar numbers.

This development comes amidst uncertainty regarding the future of TikTok, as governments around the world consider banning the Chinese platform due to its ties to the CCP. Currently there does not exist a strong free speech alternative platform that can rival the dominance of TikTok, YouTube Shorts, or Instagram Reels but that may soon change. Rumble has recently seen a surge in its user base after conservative YouTuber Steven Crowder officially migrated to the platform along with millions of viewers. As the Gateway Pundit has reported, other popular names like Russel Brand, Donald Trump Jr., and YouTuber “Stevewilldoit” have also made the platform their home in response to big tech censorship.

Here are previous TGP reporting on Russel Brand, DJT Jr, and stevewilldoit of The Nelk Boys.

Donald Trump Jr.

Donald Trump Jr. Signs Big Deal For New Podcast On Rumble

Russell Brand

Russell Brand Says He Has Been ‘Censored By YouTube’ for Video Discussing COVID, Now Moving to Rumble (VIDEO)

Nelk Boys star Steve Will

YouTube Deletes NELK Boys Interview with President Trump After 24 Hours and 5 Million Views

Having a free speech platform to upload viral, short form video could change the landscape of political content. Many young conservative content creators generate massive online followings with tens of millions of views on platforms like TikTok. Unfortunately many of them have their accounts permanently banned for their conservative opinions, giving the left a monopoly on the viral short form video market. Gen Z is coming of age and will soon be one of the largest voting demographics in the nation and short form content is crucial to reaching them.

As George Washington famously said regarding the importance of free speech, “If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”

The post Talk About Good Timing! Rumble Announces New Short Form Vertical Video Format to Rival TikTok appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.