Halsey W. Beshears

Former Secretary of the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation, Halsey W. Beshears, is the Governmental Relations & Lobbying Team Leader at Spiritus Law. His focus includes legislative and regulatory matters to establish strategic public policy platforms and propel legislative remedies for many pandemic-stricken business owners.

Mr. Beshears is a seasoned non-attorney practitioner who is well versed in government relations and Tallahassee politics following many years of public service. He served as the Secretary of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) from January 2019 to January 2021, appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis. During this time, Mr. Beshears was assigned to Governor Ron DeSantis’ Re-Open Florida Task Force Industry Working Group where he was instrumental in leading the alcohol industry through forced pandemic closures and creating operational exceptions. These exceptions included the introduction of Cocktails-To-Go in Governor DeSantis’ Executive Order 20-71, which provided a new revenue source for restaurants forced to scale down operations.

Previously, Mr. Beshears was a member of the Florida House of Representatives where he represented District 7 from 2012 to 2019. As a former secretary, he fought to improve Florida's business climate by streamlining government involvement, lowering taxes, and increasing transparency. He also sponsored and passed legislation in policy areas including the federal single-subject amendment, alcoholic beverage laws, construction defects, transportation matters, and public records in public agency contracts. Throughout his tenure, served as Chair of the Business and Professional subcommittee and the Careers and Competition subcommittee, as well as Vice-Chair of the Energy & Utilities subcommittee. Prior to becoming a lawmaker, Mr. Beshears began several successful small businesses including a large investment and management firm.

Mr. Beshears holds a Bachelor of Science in Social Science from Florida State University and a Master of Science in Entrepreneurship from the University of Florida.