Latest news with #1620
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Florida Senate criticizes House for axing Rouson Mental Health Center
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WLFA) — End of session means tensions are high, especially on the Senate floor this week when lawmakers rallied behind State Senator Darryl Rouson (D- St. Petersburg) after the House removed a mental health research center that was supposed to be named after him. In less than a year, a commission for mental health and substance abuse took a deep dive into mental health systems in Florida. From that research, Senate Bill 1620 was created. The bill passed every committee in the Senate, with all lawmakers on board. DeSantis announces joint immigration effort, more arrests to come 'The commission forwarded 30 recommendations to the speaker, the president and the governor. In discussions with stakeholders, I took 10 of those recommendations and put them in the form of a bill, which is the substance of 1620,' Rouson said. An amendment was recently added to the senate bill that would add in a research center at University of South Florida and name it after Senator Rouson. But the House stripped the center, which created tensions within the Senate chamber. 'I was truly touched that every single member present in the chamber, 37 to 0 signed on to co-sponsor the amendment. The establishment of this center means a great deal. To those who believe in advancing mental health care with evidence-based compassion,' Rouson said. According to lawmakers, if the Senate rejected the House's changes and returned the original bill as amended, the entire bill would be in jeopardy. Rouson urged his fellow collogues to agree, emphasizing that their efforts shouldn't go to waste. 'Unfortunately, the House didn't see it our way and for me, it is more important that the work continue, that the work of the commission be honored,' Rouson said. Rouson has been an advocate for addiction recovery based on his personal experience. Republicans and Democrats in the Senate spoke out one by one in support of the research center and its name. 'This was such a good amendment, naming it after such a great man. It is a travesty that the other chamber didn't allow this to go through,' said State Senator Blaise Ingoglia (R- Spring Hill). 'We should turn this around and we should tell them to get their heads straight,' said State Senator Jay Collins (R-Hillsborough). 'You're one of my best friends here in this body and what you've done is absolutely amazing and I'm just really glad that in in a year and a half, we're going to have another speaker who will hopefully support the naming of the program after you,' said State Senator Kathleen Passidomo (R-Naples). In response to the senators' remarks, House Speaker Daniel Perez (R-Miami), shared the following statement with 8 On Your Side. 'I have enormous respect for Senator Rouson. I admire his public service, and I would be happy to collaborate with the Senate to honor him. But the action of the Senate today to name a center after Senator Rouson as a means of emotionally blackmailing the House into doing what they want- is unconscionable. The comments of 'or else' were a threat to the Florida House and beneath the dignity of the Florida Senate. The Senate created a backdoor appropriations project. They did so unilaterally, fully aware that the House did not wish to include additional items in the bill beyond the Commission's recommendations. The House version of SB 1620 by Representative Christine Hunchofsky, was filed to enact the recommendations of the Commission on Mental Health and Substance Abuse Disorders. The center in question was not in the Commission report nor was it in the House bill. The Senators were rightfully outraged, but they should direct their outrage at their own chamber who made this move in an attempt to push a backdoor project and used the good Senator's legacy to do so.' House members said there seems to have been a technical challenge with the senate bill and believe both chambers will work this out and honor Senator Rouson and his legacy. 'I'm confident that they'll be able to work something out as Senator Rousan is an institution. He has served in the legislature for nearly 20 years, and when you look at his personal journey, how he overcame substance abuse to go on to become a state senator, it really is quite amazing,' said House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell (R-Tampa). Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bills requiring Ten Commandments displays in Alabama schools moving forward with lawmakers
DOTHAN, Ala (WDHN) — Two controversial companion bills requiring public schools around the state to display the ten commandments are making their way through the Alabama legislation. These bills would require each board of education to display a copy of the Ten Commandments in a common area of each school, like a library, in its jurisdiction. The Ten Commandments would have to be displayed in a 11 by 14 poster in 'large, easily readable font.' SB166 and HB178 moved out of the Senate and House committees, and are waiting to be put on the calendar for floor debates. The approved texts could also be displayed with the Mayflower Compact of 1620, the Declaration of Independence, and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. According to the bills, Alabama boards of education would not have to pay for the display themselves, and instead accept donated funds or donated displays. They also dictates that the Alabama Commission on Higher Education should adopt rules to implement the bill. If the bills are signed into law, school systems must comply by January 1, 2026. A nearly identical bill was signed into law in Louisiana in 2024. However, this bill required the Ten Commandments to be displayed in each classroom around the state. New alert system could save lives of Alabama abuse victims Similar to Louisiana's law, SB166 has drawn criticism. The ACLU of Alabama says the bill is 'unconstitutional – plain and simple.' 'The First Amendment guarantees that students and their families —not politicians or the government—get to decide which religious beliefs, if any, they adopt and what role those beliefs will play in their lives. Displaying the Ten Commandments in public-school classrooms blatantly violates this promise. Students can't focus on learning if they don't feel safe and welcome in their schools,' the ACLU of Alabama wrote on its website. The organization took the same stance on Louisiana's law, stating it violated the separation of church and state. In November, a federal judge blocked the pelican state's law, stating it was 'overtly religious.' WDHN's Montgomery Bureau Reporter, Ryan Hall, contributed to this article. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
