JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Florida Rep. Sen. Clay Yarborough introduced a bill to the Senate Community Affairs Committee that would prevent any Diversity, Equity and Inclusion action within local government.
SB 420 would prohibit “counties and municipalities from adopting ordinances, resolutions, rules, regulations, programs or policies or expending any funds relating to diversity, equity and inclusion, according to Yarborough.
The bill faced questions from senators and comments from the public for over an hour.
“So that also means for Women’s History Month, Native American. A county or municipality may not do a resolution for any of those things is that correct?” Democratic Sen. Shevrin Jones asked.
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“If its anything related to a persons or groups race, color, sex, ethnicity, gender identity or sexual orientation then that would run afoul of the way the bill is written,” Yarborough replied.
The bill also would apply to any funding for DEI staff and offices. If an official were to violate the bill, depending on it’s approval, they could face legal action.
“If you are an elected official, you could lose your seat because you want to ensure that everyone has access and individuals have a seat at the table,” Jones said.
Several senators questioned whether this was the right time for the bill, emphasizing other more pressing issues.
“What are we doing? I made a commitment and a promise that if we didn’t have such a socially divisive session, we could get a lot done. Where’s the part about lowering people’s insurance?” Democratic Senator Jason Pizzo said.
Other senators requested the wording be revised and clarified, stating that the current verbiage could confuse local governments as to what they could and could not do.
“If we provide differential treatment based on sex that could create a problem with a program that was intended for abused women which nobody would want to get rid of,” Rep. Senator Kathleen Passidomo said.
Yarborough acknowledged that there is still work to be done, noting that he looked forward to working with committee members to address some concerns.
“We need to focus on core essential services. Maintaining the roads, the parks, public safety, economic development and the like. But we should always place a higher emphasis on those very important efforts and everyone as an individual and not make it limited to any other categories other than individual qualifications and performance. And with that, I ask for you support of the bill,” Yarborough said.
The bill passed with a 5 to 3 vote. It is now headed to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
