In 2014, the Orlando Sentinel reported:
We can see Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam’s “Sunshine State Leadership Project” ad-buying committee collected $41,000 from the Florida Chamber of Commerce last month, $25,000 from Wal-Mart Inc. and $10,000 from developer and Everglades leaseholder A. Duda & Sons Inc.
We can also see Walt Disney gave $250,000 to “Florida Jobs,” which later shifted money to Putnam, and Publix Super Markets gave $100,000 to the chamber group.
In May of 2016, the Florida Chamber’s Florida Jobs PAC contributed $100,000 to Adam Putnam’s Florida Grown PC.
When asked whether these contributions influenced his decision, Putnam responded, “Of course not, anymore than anyone else’s contributions influence.”
The food safety inspections are still publicly available but do not feature any grades or indication about the severity of an infraction.
Before, the inspection results were changed, the information published online allowed consumers better analysis of health and safety information about where they shop for food. Now, consumers have very little information in these reports and, to get more detail, must submit a public records request.
