Florida Legislative Updates - Take Action
Top Priority Opposition — Election Changes Legislation
(Senate Bill 90 + House Bill 7041)The 44-page bill, HB 7041, that is filled with changes to the state elections continues to be one of our highest priorities even as it has not yet been scheduled for another hearing. SB 90 has also not been scheduled to be heard in it's final committee. We absolutely must do everything we can to educate the public on these attempts to suppress the vote.
House Bill 7041
On April 7th, a strike all amendment was filed to HB 7041, the strike all changed the bill but will still make settling litigation challenging election law harder, require people returning a ballot to a drop box to show ID to a staffer, make voters apply for mail ballots more frequently, limit third party return, prohibit private funding of elections, irrationally regulate drop boxes and reduce the number of signatures when validating provisional mail ballots.
On April 8th, the bill was heard in the House Appropriations Committee and advanced along party lines. The bill's next stop and final committee stop is in State Affairs.
Senate Bill 90
Senate Bill 90, the worst of the two proposed election changing bills, was scheduled to be heard in the Senate Rules Committee on April 6th. The bill was temporally postponed and not heard. The bill is scheduled to be heard again in the Rules Committee on April 14th. Write in opposition to the members of the Rules Committee.
Action Item: Call your Legislators: League of Women Voter's talking points
Top Priority Opposition — Anti-Protest Legislation
(House Bill 1/Senate Bill 484)
The House of Representatives has passed HB 1: the un-American anti-protest bill. The House debated HB 1 for 6 hours on Friday before it came to a vote. Around the state this issue is not looked at favorably. A statewide poll found that people are not in favor of implementing HB 1 and that it is considered harmful.
The Florida Senate used a creative procedural maneuver to resurrect the controversial “anti-protest” bill HB 1. HB 1 had yet to be heard within the upper chamber until this procedural anomaly happened. Typically either chamber (House or Senate) does not take up the other chamber's bill in committee meetings. This procedural move to take up HB 1 is both odd and a shameful trick.
The bill was heard on April 9th in an all day meeting of the Appropriations Committee. During the morning session of the April 9th bill hearing, Lobby Corps Chair Trish Neely waived in support of all the attempted amendments that made the bill less abrasive, and ultimately spoke in opposition to the bill overall in the afternoon.
The bill passed the Appropriations Committee after 8+ hours of debate and public testimony. Sen. Jeff Brandes was the only Republican to break party lines and vote no.
Next, it will be placed on the Special Order calendar to be heard on the Senate Floor.Action: Call Jason Brodeur to oppose this bill!
Contact: Email this Senator
District-Lake Mary Office (407) 333-1802
Tallahassee Office (850) 487-5009
Reproductive Rights Legislation
House Bill 241 - Parental Rights
House Bill 241 was heard in the Education & Employment Committee on March 24th, it passed on a party line vote. This bill would prevent young people from receiving the essential services they need, including wellness exams and reproductive health care. This would make our young people less healthy and less safe. HB 241 is sent to 3rd reading.
Action: Call your State Representative to oppose this bill!
Senate Joint Resolution 1238 - Percentage of Elector Votes Required to Approve an Amendment or a Revision
SJR 1238 was heard in the Ethics and Elections committee on March 29th, the League of Women Voters testified in opposition. SJR 1238 is attempting to change the percentage of elector votes required to approve an amendment or a revision to our state constitution from 60% to 66 and 2/3%.
Florida's constitutional amendments are already subject to the most difficult approval process in the nation, this only furthers the challenges for a citizen-led initiative (or any initiative) to pass. This bill is a blatant attempt to limit power of those who seek change outside of our gridlocked state legislature. If passed, since the bill is a joint resolution, this proposal will be put on the ballot during the next general election and require an extraordinary education effort from the League.
If the 66 and 2/3% requirement was in place in the past decade the following notable proposals would have failed:
2010: Fair district mandate
2018: Restoration of the right to vote for most people with prior felony convictions upon completion of their sentences
2020: Minimum wage increase
The bill now awaits a hearing in the Rules committee.
Action: Contact Rules Committee
Senate Bill 1890 - Campaign Financing
The legislature constantly moves the goal posts for citizen led ballot initiatives.
The legislature has made this process extraordinarily expensive and now, they want to cap contributions only to amendments proposed by initiative.
SB 1890 and its companion HB 699 would be the death knell of ballot initiatives. The bills cap contributions to a political committee that sponsors a constitutional amendment proposed by initiative t0 3,000 until the Secretary of State has issued a certificate of ballot position and a designating number for the proposed amendment.
League Lobby Corps Chair Trish Neely testified in opposition to this bill when heard in the Senate Rules Committee; however it passed along party lines and awaits to be heard on the Senate Floor.Education Legislation
Senate Bill 86 - Student Financial Aid
The Florida Senate voted, despite overwhelming bipartisan public opposition, to remove the guaranteed funding of Bright Futures, the merit based, lottery funded scholarship that many of our families rely on for a high quality, affordable in-state college degree. SB 86 makes the value of the scholarship award subject to the whims of the annual appropriations process.
For the time being, there has not been action on this legislation in the House and there is no direct companion.Natural Resources Legislation
Senate Bill 1954 - Statewide Flooding and Sea Level Rise Resilience
SB1954 requires the Department of Environmental Protection to complete a comprehensive statewide flood vulnerability and sea level rise data set, establishes the Resilient Florida Grant Program, and requires the department to develop an annual Statewide Flooding and Sea Level Rise Resilience Plan and submit the plan to the Governor and Legislature along with additional measures.
This bill, a priority bill , has passed both chambers and will now go to the Governor for final approval.Source: League of Women Voters Website