It all blew up, however, when lawmakers attempted to get a similar disclosure on a contract between Visit Florida and none other than Mr. 305 himself, Pitbull. The agency refused to disclose the information, according to Rep. Renner, which they were legally authorized to refuse on the basis of a public records exemption. Rep. Corcoran sued Pitbull’s production agency for disclosure of the contract, however, which prompted Pitbull to release a copy of the contract on Twitter.
This $1.1 million deal pushed state congressmen to draft a bill that aims to significantly defund Visit Florida. The chairman of Visit Florida reassures that the agency is taking steps to reform its business practices due to all the scrutiny over its lack of transparency, and an important part of this reform is the new commitment not to enter into any confidentiality agreements like the one signed with Pitbull. Additionally, Visit Florida has a new CEO, Ken Lawson, who previously headed the Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
