The 5 worst ideas Florida lawmakers want to put into law in 2021 | Editorial
Every year, the Miami Herald Editorial Board writes a wish list of bills and proposals we believe should be enacted during Florida’s two-month-long legislative session. After looking at some of the priorities of the House and Senate Republican leadership and Gov. Ron DeSantis, we were compelled to also create a “do not” list.
Session begins Tuesday. Here are the worst proposals in front of lawmakers.
Attacks on vote by mail
By Republicans’ own admission, vote by mail was a success in the 2020 elections. There was no evidence of fraud.
So why are they trying to make it less accessible?
Even Donald Trump, who spent all of 2020 lying about the security of mail ballots, made an exception for Florida, saying the practice was fine here before casting his own mail ballot in the August primary. But Trump’s lies, told enough times, convinced the GOP that they need to crack down on voter access.
Of course, this all plays really nicely into the hands of DeSantis, who’s running for reelection next year. Democrats outpaced Republicans in mail voting numbers in 2020.
Under the guise of trying to improve a system that doesn’t need improvement, a bill moving in the Senate would shorten the amount of time a mail voting request is considered valid. The legislation would force voters to request a ballot again ahead of the 2022 elections. DeSantis also has said he wants to crack down on drop boxes where people deposit their ballots, and prevent other people from dropping off voters’ ballots.
Florida Republicans for years succeeded at mail voting, which helped them reach older voters and cement their dominance in Tallahassee. Isn’t it odd that after losing that edge they have become so preoccupied with “improving” the system?
Protest crackdown
Republicans say House Bill 1 goes after rioters while protecting peaceful protesters. That’s baloney.
The measure is DeSantis’ biggest priority this year, even though Florida didn’t see violent protests like the ones in other states after the death of George Floyd. The state also has much bigger issues with which to contend — a global pandemic, an affordable housing crisis, a broken unemployment system — while the governor puts his political weight behind this proposal.
Florida law already punishes people who commit crimes such as burglary and theft during protests, but the legislation would enhance criminal penalties and deny bail to people arrested during a “riot,” which is loosely defined, until a first-appearance hearing. Blocking traffic could be deemed “aggravated rioting,” which would be punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
It would be up to law enforcement to determine what’s a riot and who’s involved in it, prompting communities of color to rightfully sound the alarm that they would be disproportionately impacted by this legislation. HB 1 also would make it harder for local governments to cut police budgets.
Finally, the bill would sanction violence against so-called rioters by providing immunity from a civil lawsuit to someone who hurts or kills a protester.
In all, this bill would have a chilling effect on civil disobedience while emboldening vigilantes.
In a disingenuous move, Republicans have promoted HB 1 as a reaction to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. The truth is, DeSantis pitched it in the wake of last summer’s protests and Trump’s calls for “law and order.” Make no mistake, this is a crackdown on Black Lives Matter.
Attacks on local rule
The old principle that the government closest to the people serves the people best only goes so far in Tallahassee — meaning, up to the point where state lawmakers don’t like what local governments are doing. Every year, legislators introduce a slew of bills to preempt locals from shaping what their communities should look like.
This year, lawmakers and the governor are at it again. DeSantis wants lawmakers to limit the ability of cities and counties to impose pandemic restrictions such as curfews. Republicans have filed bills to prohibit local governments from regulating vacation rentals, local campaign financing, home-based businesses (deregulation sounds great until you have to live next to one such business) and even cruise ships.
To add insult to injury, there’s also House Bill 215 to prohibit local governments from using public funds to pay for a lobbyist to advocate for their interests before the Legislature and the executive branch, therefore making it harder for them to fight Tallahassee’s efforts to curtail their powers.
Suppressing the public’s right to know
Floridians should be proud that we have one of the strongest government transparency and public records laws in the country. They should also be enraged that there are currently more than 1,000 exemptions to the Sunshine Law. Lawmakers want to expand that list by hiding from disclosure voters’ information, the home address of lawmakers and the names of candidates applying to become the president of a state college or university (information about finalists still would be available). This is yet another attempt to keep the public in the dark.
Choosing who’s worthy of financial aid
Thinking of getting that English literature degree? Think twice.
Hard work, good grades and talent wouldn’t matter under Senate Bill 86 if your child chose a black-listed major in college. The legislation would limit state-funded financial aid if a student’s chosen career doesn’t “lead directly to employment” as determined by the state annually. The bill establishes criteria for worthy careers, such as wages and industry needs, but it would be ripe with opportunities for Republicans, who have been on a warpath with academia, to penalize those who choose liberal arts degrees.
This is a short-sighted attempt to save money in the state budget that would only lead to more student debt for students whose interests don’t ally with state-sanctioned careers.
SB 86, however, has some redeeming qualities. It would allow Bright Futures recipients to apply unused portions of their scholarships toward graduate school.
