They don't want us to pay attention.
Week 5 of Florida's 2023 Legislative Session
There’s no sugarcoating it- bad bills are moving fast at the Florida Capitol. Republican lawmakers are ramming them through, unexpectedly removing committee hearings to get them to the House and Senate floor for a final vote.
Once a bill hits the floor, public testimonies are no longer allowed, and lawmakers aren’t forced to come face to face with what the people have to say. But even in committee, the only opportunity for the public to be heard on a bill, we’ve been seeing countless testimonies rudely cut short, students being harassed, and sergeants looking for any reason to kick peaceful participants out.
If our voices didn’t matter, they wouldn’t be trying so hard to stifle us. Corporate lawmakers in Tallahassee really don’t want us to pay attention because when we do it, it makes them nervous.
So here’s what you should know:
ON OUR RADAR
Labor
SB 256, aka the Destroy Workers Rights Act, passed the Florida Senate last week with a vote of 23-17. This is the aggressively anti-union legislation that targets teachers, nurses, and bus drivers while exempting police officers and prison guards. It would not only jeopardize hard-fought union agreements on health benefits, wages, and retirement, but also make joining and staying in public sector unions extremely challenging. The bill’s companion in the House has one last committee stop before it will go to the floor for a full vote.
Housing
SB 102, the “Live Local Act,” was signed into law by Gov. DeSantis. This bill permanently bans cities and counties from reasonably capping rent hikes to help struggling renters and gives huge tax breaks to real estate developers. Meanwhile, a recent investigation on the sources of income of current Florida lawmakers found that more than 40% have direct ties to the real estate industry. Shocking.
HB1417/SB1586 would not just ban rent control but ban all local renter protections, including the Tenant’s Bill of Rights laws and required rent increase notices that have been established in several major cities and counties. This predatory state mandate is backed by deep-pocketed corporate landlords who continue to inflate rents across the state to profit off of Floridians. Last week, dozens of renters from around the state traveled to Tallahassee to speak out against this bill. Their pleas were ignored, and the bill passed along party lines in two committees, continuing to move through the legislative process.
Abortion
On Monday, the Florida Senate passed a bill banning abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. Notably, Senator Lauren Book and Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried were arrested while protesting the vote outside Tallahassee City Hall. With support from Florida For All’s People’s Budget, Floridians for Reproductive Justice led a campaign to expose the $25 million for fake clinics in the near-total abortion ban bills. The bill is expected in the House next before heading to the Governor for final approval.
Education and LGBTQ
At a private Catholic School in Miami, Gov. DeSantis signed HB 1 into law. This will effectively take billions of dollars away from Florida’s public education system and offer tax-payer-funded vouchers to millionaires to send their kids to elite corporate schools. This will cost Florida billions, likely worse than in states like Arizona.
Remember that joint resolution we told you about that will require members of a district school board to be elected in a partisan election? It passed the Florida House in a 79-34 vote. All part of DeSantis’ plan to take over school boards across the state, i.e., Moms For Liberty gone wild.
The Florida Senate signed off on SB 254 that would effectively prohibit anyone under the age of 18 from receiving gender-affirming care. There’s another bill moving through the House that would essentially allow both doctors and insurance companies to deny people care if it offends them. Great.
SB 1674 passed its first Senate committee last week and would ban trans people from using the bathroom for the gender with which they identify. It poses a penalty of up to 60 days in jail or a $500 fine to any adult that refuses to immediately leave the bathroom “designated for the opposite sex”. Kaleb Hobson-Garcia, a trans man, gave powerful testimony explaining why this bill is hurtful.
But wait, there’s more. SB 1438, aka “Don’t Say Slay” is close to passing in the Senate and would suspend or altogether revoke licenses of businesses that permit the attendance of minors in drag shows. There is a major concern that this type of legislation will attract violent protestors to the shows, regardless of whether kids attend them.
HB 1069, a bill that doubles down on last year’s infamous “Don’t Say Gay” Bill, passed the Florida House with a vote of 77-35. This will ban any discussion of gender identity, sexuality, or non-hetero families up through eighth grade, again under the guise of “protecting our children.” The actual number one threat to our children that lawmakers have grossly ignored – gun violence.
Public Safety
Behind closed doors, and with no announcement, DeSantis signed into law a bill that lets people carry guns without a permit and without any training. This happened only a week after a school shooting in Nashville left six people dead, including three 9-year-olds.
SB 450 passed on the Senate Floor and would allow for the judge in death penalty cases to order the death penalty without a unanimous decision, as long as at least 8 jurors recommend it. With wrongful conviction already being an issue, this is vile.
Corporate greed, preemption, and other fun
It will now be exceptionally difficult for Floridians to sue insurance companies and businesses thanks to DeSantis signing HB 837 into law. Rep. Ashley Gantt described it as giving a “get-out-of-jail-free card” to big insurance companies, and dozens of everyday Floridians who had suffered injuries traveled from across the state to testify against this bill.
The “Deathstar Preemption Bill” is waiting to be scheduled for a vote on the house floor. HB 1515 would allow businesses to sue city and county governments over ordinances broadly deemed "arbitrary or unreasonable," blocking enforcement and forcing local taxpayers to cover the legal fees. Policies that address the rising cost of living, consumer protections, and local ordinances that serve working people could all be stopped by one bad actor or a team of corporate lawyers— none elected by Floridians or accountable to the people.
Elections
Finally, special mention to the Florida Senate for releasing a 98-page elections bill only 24 hours before its first hearing. It’s like they are trying to avoid us on purpose. The freedom to vote is essential to the power of everyday people. This bill doubles down on efforts to intimidate, confuse, and deny eligible voters our freedoms. It reflects the dark Jim Crow era, a part of our history we should leave in the past, not bring to the present day. Ultimately, we know that increased barriers to participating in elections will disproportionately impact Floridians of color.
RAYS OF SUNSHINE
Here’s a fun conversation starter: Did you know Florida hasn’t had a Department of Labor since Jeb Bush dismantled it in his first term? The government agency that’s meant to protect us by enforcing laws related to minimum wage, working conditions, and prohibited types of contracts literally does not exist. Well, this bill*, sponsored by one of our favorites, Rep. Angie Nixon, would combat wage theft and reestablish the Florida Department of Labor. Yes. Please.
*currently does not have a hearing scheduled
HB 779, also sponsored by Rep. Nixon, would allow for certain rights and protections for pregnant women in custody and also protect the lives of expectant mothers and their babies. As part of her “Let’s Flourish Plan,” Rep. Nixon described how she’s “a big proponent of positive Maternal Health outcomes, especially for Black Women who have the highest maternal mortality rates compared to other races.” This bill is making its way through committees in the House.
People’s Champion Rep. Anna Eskamani is successfully pushing for a tax break that would save Floridians money on the essentials. HB 29 is moving through the House and would make tax breaks on all diapers permanent, not just those worn by children.
RESOURCES
In this op-ed, Dr. Elizabeth Aranda, Director of the Immigrant Well-Being Research Center at USF, goes into how SB 1718 would not only criminalize all U.S. citizens but also erode the social fabric that is integral to community. This bill will divide families, isolate undocumented immigrants from their support networks, and intensify the mental health issues already prominent in undocumented youth and young adults.
SWORD, the self-proclaimed “official newsletter of people who actually want to stop Ron DeSantis from torturing Floridians and becoming President,” gave an in-depth look at how new anti-immigrant legislation takes xenophobia to a violent new extreme. Important sidenote from Thomas Kennedy, “Kidnapping migrants and flying them across the country goes unmentioned in the bill, but the legislature already made that retroactively legal for DeSantis after he screwed up.”
Read our 2023 People’s Budget Pre-Session Report: The People’s Agenda vs. the Corporate Agenda.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
The principal at Tallahassee Classical School was forced to resign after an art teacher showed Michelangelo’s “David” statue to sixth-grade students because it was deemed “pornographic.” Sure, this school is notably conservative, but it’s also explicitly a “classical” school whose mission is to provide “a content-rich classical education in the liberal arts” and requires the teaching of the Renaissance… just the version without one of the most famous pieces of art in human history?
“We’re not in a battle. We’re in a war,” said United Faculty of Florida President Andrew Gothard during a recent student protest against HB 999. “This didn’t start yesterday, and it’s not going to end tomorrow.”
DeSantis likes to brag about how much he’s done for the environment- but can’t say the words “climate change”?
Here’s your reminder that all these bills we’re opposing have a common thread: they’re backed by billionaires and corporate interests. Gov. DeSantis and his greedy allies want to divide and distract us so they can make budget decisions behind closed doors. That way, they make record profits with 0 accountability and truly be the best legislature money can buy.
What we are building- it can’t be bought.
Onwards,
Your Friends at Florida For All
