Latest news with #Diceglie
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Florida lawmakers consider legislation that looks to limit DEI policies
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) — As federal agencies are being directed to terminate all equity-related grants or contracts on the national level, state lawmakers in Tallahassee are considering legislation that centers around limitations on diversity, equity, and inclusion requirements, otherwise known as DEI. The sponsor of the bill at hand, State Senator Nick Diceglie of Pinellas County, says DEI programs do not create fairness, but rather favoritism. Trump is planning to order a shutdown of the Education Department. Here's what it does On the other hand, Democrats argue the bill is problematic and feeds into culture wars.'We do not give up, we organize; and when we organize, we win,' said State Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando. Florida Democrats and advocates rallied at the capitol in opposition of a number of bills. Equality Florida released the list of bills the organization is against this legislative session, such as Senate Bill 7016, Senate Bill 420, Senate Bill 440, Senate Bill 1710, Senate Bill 932, and Senate Bill 930.'Several bills that perpetuate these decisive culture wars that do nothing to lower costs for Floridians, that do nothing to solve real problems, and that do nothing to improve the lives of hardworking people in this state are being heard in committees in the Florida house and senate,' Smith said. One of those efforts, led by Senator Diceglie, SB 1710 aims to prohibit state agencies from using funds to follow or support DEI policies, saying it's inappropriate for state agencies to have these programs in the first place. 'In practice, DEI often leads to reverse discrimination, favoring some groups over others under the guides of equity. This isn't fairness, its favoritism dressed up as progress,' Diceglie said. In support of the bill, State Senator Randy Fine, R-Melbourne Beach, says DEI has proven to be not about diversity but rather about ideology and pushing a political agenda that not everyone agrees with. 'What the bill says is you won't manipulate or influence the compensation of employees using things like race, sex, color, or ethnicity. Basically, you can't discriminate,' Fine said. State Representative Anna V. Eskamani, D-Orlando, argues that the bill does nothing to help everyday Floridians, and instead prioritizes political games. 'I do see this type of legislation not only eroding local control, making it harder for local governments to respond to their constituents needs, but it's just part of a larger, politically motivated attack. That is not actually going to make the lives better for our constituents.'Others endorse the bill,' Eskamani from across the state came to speak out against the bill, however, despite those efforts, it still passed out of committee, 6 yays and 2 nays. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Lessons learned': Florida lawmakers look to improve emergency response, recovery efforts
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) — Coming off last year's hurricanes, residents up and down the coast were confused and frustrated with permitting and recovery delays. Now, with another hurricane season quickly approaching, several Tampa Bay lawmakers are pitching legislation, hoping to cut through the red tape and get Floridians back into their homes. 'Even today, there are residents who are waiting to get their permits to get back into their homes so they can start living their normal lives again,' said State Senator Nick Diceglie, R-Indian Rocks Island. VIDEO: Florida woman stuck in car as tornado passes by; debris goes flying Diceglie of Pinellas County shared his efforts to tackle permitting issues in the Senate Community Affairs Committee on Tuesday. Senate Bill 180 is being described as a compilation of 'lessons learned' after the 2024 hurricane season. 'One of the key elements in this bill is the permitting process and we unfortunately have seen, in Pinellas County specifically, that there was just simply a lack of training,' Diceglie said. Diceglie is hoping a post-storm permitting plan is a step in the right direction.'Every May 1 of each year, that plan is going to be on their website. The community is going to be able to see that plan, and that training is going to be no different than when we train law enforcement,' Diceglie said. The lengthy bill also requires the Florida Division of Emergency Management to maintain a statewide emergency plan that coordinates with federal, state and local agencies. The plan includes provisions for evacuation, shelters, medical evacuations, post disaster response and recovery. Waving in support of the bill, Eric Poole, executive director of the Institute for County Government and Florida Association of Counties, affirmed that Florida has the best emergency management system in the nation. 'The reason for it is because our system gets tested every single year. We learn from each of those storms — each storm is unique — and this bill, I think, apparently pulls in a lot of the lessons learned from the 2024 hurricane season,' Poole said. As more and more lawmakers try a hand in tackling permitting concerns, the Florida Division of Emergency Management is now touting a first-of-its-kind statewide program that aims to elevate and harden homes.'Not only is it going to help get people out of the floodway by getting them out of the floodway, that's going to reduce their flood insurance premiums,' Guthrie said. 'Elevate Florida' looks to expedite and complete residential mitigation projects. Guthrie says the program aims to help about 1,000 homes with 5,000 applications already rolling in.'We're going to be fast with this. Our goal is to start raising homes by this summer,' Guthrie said. Representative Lindsay Cross, D-St. Petersburg, another state lawmaker out of Pinellas County, is well-versed in permitting and recovery issues.'There are a lot of places where we can have more expediency and better coordination between out federal state and local partners,' Cross said. 'One thing I am going to be looking at is making sure our local governments have appropriate disaster preparedness plans.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
