Florida GOP’s latest attack on DEI may threaten events, programs

City and county governments fear they will be barred from supporting routine community events like film festivals, parades and even health screenings under the Republican Legislature’s latest push for diversity, equity and inclusion.

Opponents say the measure about to pass could not only wipe out local government support for ethnic heritage events, LGBTQ pride activities and black history commemorations, but likely threatens economic incentive programs aimed at helping women and minorities.

“It may sound ridiculous, because it is ridiculous,” said St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch, among a handful of local government leaders speaking against the legislation that cleared the Senate in a 25-11 vote on March 4.

The House could approve the measure as early as March 5 and send it to Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is expected to sign the anti-DEI measure.

The legislation prohibits counties and cities from funding, promoting, or taking official action related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The bill defines DEI as anything that aims to help people of different backgrounds, cultures, identities and experiences feel accepted in their environment.

Anyone could sue a government if they suspected a program or event was influenced by DEI. And local officials could be removed from office by the governor for violating the law.

The threat of prosecution or impeachment will make officials reluctant to take risks.

The risk of a lawsuit or being ousted from office will likely prevent city and county officials from supporting anything that could be construed as racially or equity-motivated.

DeSantis, now in his last full year as governor, vowed in his second inaugural address that Florida was the place where “wokeness goes to die.” And the GOP’s latest effort is part of its campaign to erase all signs of DEI efforts at the state and local level.

Even St. Patrick’s Day parades, like those planned across the state this month, would be in jeopardy next year — if DeSantis gets his way, officials warned.

They say the legislation (SB 1134, HB 1001) will have the opposite effect and disrupt a host of popular programs.

“It’s clear that (the intent of the legislation) is to denigrate the gay community, the African-American community, any person of color, women,” Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis said. “It’s more targeted to those communities.”

He added: “The rhetoric of the past several years continues to point to a direction that this administration and this Legislature have followed. »

Two Jacksonville Republicans lead the charge

The sponsors of the legislation are two Jacksonville Republicans: Rep. Dean Black, a former Duval County Republican chairman, and Sen. Clay Yarborough. Similar legislation failed last year, but appears to be on track to be approved before the Legislature’s March 13 deadline.

Yarborough said local governments are using DEI to “hide expenditures and practices” that were not an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars.

But speaking on the Senate floor March 4, Yarborough said his proposal would not prevent public money from going toward black history events or other state or federally recognized celebrations.

Publicly funded programs by a city or county that honor minorities, women and other individuals would still be allowed, Yarborough added. Events established by state or federal law, such as Martin Luther King Day, could still be supported by local governments, he said.

It seeks to impose new barriers on training, development and diversity programs run by local governments and their contractors. Yarborough said curricula should not include languages ​​that promote “one over the other.”

“They are used to make people feel oppressed and unequal compared to others,” Yarborough said.

A familiar story… Florida’s GOP-led Legislature aims to limit the power of city and county governments

A DeSantis campaign against residents… Property tax overhaul could give state more power over cities, counties

The city of Miami Beach is among those opposing the proposal, warning legislative leaders in a recent letter that if local financial support was barred from certain initiatives, Florida could lose events and conferences that attract “millions of tourists and billions of dollars in revenue.”

Tallahassee City Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox joined other officials on a March 4 video call to urge lawmakers to scrap anti-DEI legislation.

She said if DeSantis signed a law based on the measure, city and county contract programs intended to help women and minorities would certainly be banned. Some 150 minority-owned businesses are reportedly at risk after winning $35 million in contracts over the past three years.

“This bill would undo all of those things,” Williams-Cox said.

A pattern of DeSantis-era attacks on local governments

The anticipation of DEI programs for local governments parallels what DeSantis and lawmakers have done at the state level. It also follows a DeSantis-era trend of limiting local government authority.

Cities and counties have been hit with laws restricting their ability to tax, regulate and respond to problems.

But socially conscious DEI efforts in some communities still pose a red flag to DeSantis and Republican lawmakers — worth pursuing since the effort apparently still animate conservative voters.

“We fund events, we routinely waive fees and this bill will force us to reconsider how we set policies going forward,” said Fernandina Beach City Commissioner Genece Minshew, whose community is represented by both Black and Yarborough.

John Kennedy is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network’s Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jkennedy2@usatodayco.com, or on X at @JKennedyReport.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida GOP’s anti-DEI campaign could end series of events and programs.