In battle over Emeril Lagasse contract, Florida House helped by ruling

An appeals court Friday says the House of Representatives can move forward with a subpoena for information related to more than $10 million in contracts for a taxpayer-funded TV show hosted by famed chef Emeril Lagasse, “Emeril’s Florida.”

A three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal overturned a circuit judge’s ruling that blocked the House from subpoenaing records from MAT Media, LLC, which received more than $10 million through contracts with the state tourism-marketing agency VISIT FLORIDA.

The panel said the request “falls squarely within a legitimate legislative investigation.”

Then Circuit Court Judge Karen Gievers upheld the subpoena that former House Speaker Richard Corcoran issued to MAT Media for information in 2017 and 2018 to see if owner Pat Roberts profited more from the publicly funded deal than similar agreements between two private companies. But she also upheld Roberts’ trade secret claim, meaning the documents generated by a deal worth $12.7 million in taxpayer dollars could still be barred.

But in a brief filed early last year, MAT Media and Roberts’ attorneys disputed the House’s legal standing to request the information. He argued some of the disputed information was private and not important to the House’s probe.

The television show contracts have been part of a controversy during the past few years about VISIT FLORIDA’s spending — and House efforts to eliminate it.

The House also has questioned past promotional contracts, such as with Miami rapper Pitbull and with an auto-racing team known as VISIT FLORIDA Racing.

The fate of Visit Florida is a closely watched issue during this year’s legislative session, as the agency will be eliminated July 1 unless it is reauthorized. The Senate has budgeted $52.5 million to VISIT FLORIDA. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved SB 362, filed by Clearwater Republican Sen. Ed Hooper, which would expand the embattled agency’s mission until October 2028. But the House has said funding tourism marketing was a non-starter.

The cooking show featured Florida-style cuisine and ran on the Food Network and the Cooking Channel.