Latest news with #Bill1205
Miami Herald
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Floridians approved better wages and class sizes. Lawmakers want to curb their voice
In Florida, everyday people can help shape our democracy through citizen-led ballot initiatives. This process has been used time and again to push forward policies and reforms backed by the people themselves. We've got a real history of coming together and using our collective voices to make impactful change. It was a citizen-led initiative that cut class sizes to tackle overcrowding in Florida schools. It was the people who pushed through universal voluntary pre-kindergarten (VPK) for every 4-year old. It was a citizen-led initiative that raised Florida's way too low minimum wage — giving workers better outcomes and a fighting chance. And it was the people who restored voting rights to 1.5 million people with some felony convictions. Now, Florida lawmakers want to take all that power away. There are bills moving through both the House and Senate, specifically Senate Bill 7016/ House Bill 1205, that are meant to cripple the citizen-led ballot process. Instead of building up this popular democratic tool, Tallahassee is trying to shut it down — handing more power to themselves and their big-money backers. We gotta let them know: the power still belongs with the people. Florida already has some of the hardest rules in the country for passing citizen constitutional amendments. You need 60% voter approval to pass one here. Most states only ask for 50%. Now lawmakers want to pile on more crazy requirements that'll make it almost impossible for normal folks to bring forth any new ideas. These new rules include a $1 million bond — yes, $1 million just to get an voter initiative on the ballot—and tighter deadlines and other nonsense that don't help nobody. I believe it's nothing but a way to keep regular Floridians quiet. Our voices won't be silenced. If the Legislature won't fix the problems that matter to us, we've got the right to put forward the solutions ourselves. That's why citizen-led initiatives exist. That's why they matter so much. Now, lawmakers wanna take that tool out of our hands. It's anti-democratic, plain and simple. Citizen-led amendments is how we've made Florida better in the past, and it's how we'll keep improving it in the future. If we let them take that away, we're giving up one of the few direct ways we can make change in this state. It's not just about one bill or one issue. It's about power. Who has it. And who lawmakers think should have it. We have to fight this. We must stand up to the latest attack on Florida voters. Every person in this state deserves the right to participate in the process, to be heard, to shape what the future looks like. Democracy only works when the people have a real say. If lawmakers in Tallahassee cared about fairness or integrity in the process, they'd be making it easier, not harder, for people to get involved. They'd be encouraging public engagement — not shutting it down. But, instead, they're protecting their own seats, their corporate donors and a broken status quo. We don't have to accept it. When regular people have come together in Florida, we've proven what we can do. We've protected education, expanded rights, lifted up working families. All without waiting on politicians to do the right thing. They want us to feel powerless. But we're not. Now's the time to fight for what's ours. Let's show up, speak out, and make sure they remember who really holds the power in this state. Zelalem Adefris has served as the CEO of Catalyst Miami since April 2023. Catalyst Miami's mission is to identify and collectively solve issues adversely affecting low-wealth communities throughout Miami-Dade.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Scott Maxwell: After minimum wage, marijuana, Florida politicians want to shut down amendment votes
You, the Florida voter, have made big things happen over the years. You established a universal pre-K program, imposed term limits and raised the minimum wage. You legalized medical marijuana, demanded smaller class sizes and guaranteed that people who pay all their debts to society for past crimes can regain their civil rights. You accomplished all of these things by amending the Florida Constitution — in favor of civil rights, fair wages and public education. Well, now it's time for payback. See, the politicians and special interests don't like it when you make your voice heard. They like to control the process. So Gov. Ron DeSantis and GOP legislators are advancing bills that would make it all but impossible for citizens to get issues like these on the ballot in the future. We'll talk more about how in a moment. But first let's take a moment to remember all the ways lawmakers have already tried to undermine your will. Sometimes they did so by simply ignoring your votes or warping their intent — reclassifying math classes, for example, as non-core classes to allow them to continue cramming 40 kids in a room. Or by slow-rolling implementation of the medical marijuana and restored-rights amendments. Devious Plans 2.0 – The latest plan to undermine Florida's class-size laws Other times, they erected hurdles to try to stop citizens' groups from ever getting issues on the ballot in the first place. They even threatened to arrest you and throw you in jail. In an episode that I believe was one of the most egregious examples of unconstitutional authoritarianism, GOP lawmakers passed a law several years ago that would've allowed the state to arrest and imprison anyone who donated more than $3,000 to a citizen-led initiative to get an amendment on the ballot. The politicians themselves were happy to take unlimited campaign checks — as big as $5 million apiece from out-of-state billionaires in the case of DeSantis' campaign committee. But they wanted to make it a crime for you to donate more than $3,000 to efforts supporting things like abortion rights. Their law was blatantly unconstitutional. Not just according to me, but according to the conservative, Donald Trump-appointed judge who shot it down. If you're not irritated about the fact that these people were willing to try to imprison you for donating to causes they disliked, you are a politician's perfect patsy. Florida pays lawyers $675/hour to defend unconstitutional legislation. They keep losing | Commentary Yet despite all of the politicians' efforts to thwart your vote, you persisted. So now they are back with the legislative equivalent of an atom bomb. There are several different proposals out there, including House Bill 1205 and Senate Bill 7016. But one draconian idea would impose $1 million bonds on any groups trying to launch a petition drive. As Demond Meade, the leader of the popular and successful campaign for the automatic restoration of civil rights, told the Sentinel: 'There was no way we could have posted a $1 million bond without any funding.' That is exactly the point — to cripple citizens' initiatives before they ever get out of the gate. Another eye-rolling irony is that these lawmakers complain that citizens campaigns are funded by big-money interests while trying to require big money to launch them. Other proposed changes would cut the deadline for submitting signed petitions from 30 days to 10 days after the signature is received, increase the fines for petition-gathers who file late by more than 100 times and even force friends and neighbors collecting signatures on their own cul de sac to register with the state. It's all meant to bog down and intimidate. Backers claim they're doing this for election 'integrity.' Oddly, though, they haven't pushed to apply all these rules to the petition process for their own campaigns. Apparently potential election fraud is only a concern when people like you are pushing for evil things like preschool classes. Of course, none of this has anything to do with integrity. It's about thwarting your right to petition your own government — a right that has existed in this state since 1886. It's worth remembering that this effort to strip you of your amendment rights has largely been led by special interests. The politicians are merely their toadies. In Florida, the majority loses. On abortion, marijuana, more | Commentary The fight began in earnest 20 years ago when groups like the Florida Chamber of Commerce and Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association were furious that citizens had passed an amendment to raise the minimum wage to $6.15 an hour. They made laughable predictions that Florida's economy would all but shut down if their members were forced to pay workers $246 a week. Of course that didn't happen. So they were terrified that you might try to exercise your rights again. They were also worried about a proposed amendment that might've made it harder for developers to have their way with the state. So they proposed raising the threshold for amendment approval to 60% and launched a slick campaign, financed by Realtors, homebuilders, Big Sugar and companies like Publix, that convinced Floridians they should restrict their own rights. In one of the most twisted ironies of Florida politics, the amendment that said amendments need 60% passed with .. wait for it … less than 60% of the vote. So now we're a state where the minority rules. But the special interests and their puppet politicians are still scared of the 60%. So now they want to permanently clog up the only direct pipeline to Democracy you have left. If you care about these issues, you should consider contacting your state House and Senate members, as well as the leaders of each chamber. You can find their contact info at Tell them to leave the amendment process alone. And if you're OK rolling over, well, that's what they're hoping. smaxwell@
