Could DEI die on the local level?

Municipal diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives are one step closer to elimination after the Senate Community Affairs committee moved Sen. Clay Yarborough’s legislation (SB 420) forward along party lines.

The Jacksonville Republican’s bill would block local governments from passing DEI initiatives and make ones already in law illegal. It would also create a cause of action for citizens to file civil suits against local governments in the event they feel discriminated against by DEI laws. It also holds that legislators who vote for DEI legislation are guilty of misfeasance or malfeasance.

An amendment removed the retroactivity provision of the bill, and Yarborough clarified that the potential local lawmaker violations enumerated in the bill were in official and not personal capacities.

Senate Democratic Leader Jason Pizzo and Democratic Sen. Shevrin Jones pressed Yarborough on semantic and policy issues raised by the bill.

Pizzo noted that the bill could preclude minority set asides in employment and argued that it was incredibly far reaching.

Jones said the bill could lead to the removal of local leaders who wanted to ensure “everyone had a seat at the table” and argued that the right to civil action allows people to sue governments without worrying about the cost of legal fees.

“This is just nasty,” Jones said. “How we are doing our counties and cities.”

Jones also argued that the definition of “DEI” is exceptionally broad, going on to say this kind of “food fight” legislation is what constituents “complain about” because it won’t put “food on their tables,” but will “confuse” local governments.

“It’s not democracy. It’s authoritarianism,” the Miami Gardens Democrat said.

Former Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, though up on the bill, questioned the language in parts. She took issue with verbiage targeting “preferential treatment” in the context of a women’s shelter and its clients.

“I’ll help you with it if you’d like,” she offered. Yarborough said he was eager to make the bill better.

The bill drove intense public interest, with 30 public commenters mostly opposed to the bill. They each got just 30 seconds to speak.

The bill has two committee stops ahead. The House companion is sponsored by Rep. Dean Black, but his bid to destroy DEI has yet to be heard in its first of three committee stops.

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Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.

First Shot

Two proposals from Sen. Blaise Ingoglia that could cap the tenures of long-standing legislators in Tallahassee and throughout the state have cleared the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee.

First, the committee approved SJR 536, which proposes a constitutional amendment on the 2026 General Election ballot asking voters to block legislators who served two full terms in the Senate and four years in the House (16 years total) from returning for more time in the legislative branch.

An amendment from the temporarily absent Sen. Erin Grall, presented by Jenn Bradley, would have relaxed the cap to 24 years. However, the sponsor deemed it unfriendly, and it failed by a 3-3 vote.

Bradley is concerned by the “lifetime ban” that could result from Ingoglia’s measure, though she acknowledged the “ping pong” of legislators between one office and the other.

“If you serve and years later you want to come back and serve your community, I think that’s the most American thing you can do,” the Clay County Republican said.

Ingoglia is open to adding a “time certain” element to the language that could potentially yield returns for legislators after a certain point. This could theoretically be seen at a future Committee stop.

Monday’s committee also approved SJR 802, a separate amendment seeking to set eight-year term limits for County Commissions and School Boards. Under this proposal, terms of office that started before the 2022 General Election would be off the clock.

Read more on Florida Politics.

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—“Trump wants to build homes on federal land. Here’s what that would look like.” via Rebecca Picciotto and Drew An-Pham of The Wall Street Journal

—“The ultimate Trump story” via Quinta Jurecic of The Atlantic

—“The collateral damage of Trump’s firing spree” via Lindsay Ellis of The Wall Street Journal

—“What can be done if Trump is openly defying the courts?” via Ian Millhiser of Vox

—“‘Righteous revolt’: Are Democrats finally tired of surrendering?” via Andrew Perez and Asawin Suebsaeng of Rolling Stone

—“Squeezed from left and right, Pam Bondi is Trump’s most besieged Cabinet member” via David Catanese of McClatchy

—“James Uthmeier says Andrew and Tristan Tate keep digging themselves ‘deeper into a hole’” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics

—”How Florida avoided California’s insurance crisis — and why it must stay the course” via Jeff Brandes for Florida Politics

—“Lawmakers: Drop rule that high schoolers pass algebra, English exams to get diplomas” via Steven Walker of the Orlando Sentinel