Latest news with #FloridaDecidesHealthcare
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Medicaid expansion would be a lifeline for Floridians; that's why we're suing
Let's not sugarcoat it: Florida's healthcare policies are failing us. They're failing the single mother in Ocala who earns $15,000 a year working part-time and was recently diagnosed with cancer — but can't afford the treatment she needs to survive. They're failing rural hospitals on the brink of collapse. And they're failing the hundreds of thousands of Floridians stuck in the 'coverage gap'— earning too much to qualify for Medicaid, but too little to afford private insurance. And now, to make matters worse, our state's lawmakers have passed a law that aims to take away one of the last tools Floridians have to fix it: the power of citizen-led constitutional amendments. That's why Florida Decides Healthcare filed a federal lawsuit challenging the dangerous new law known as House Bill 1205. This isn't just about getting Medicaid expansion on the ballot. This is about defending the very foundation of our democracy: the people's right to be heard and to shape their own future. This law, signed by the governor, isn't reform. It's repression. HB 1205 is a cynical effort to make it harder for everyday Floridians — teachers, nurses, veterans, parents — to participate in their own government. It buries citizens in red tape, threatens them with criminal penalties, and intimidates them for simply trying to collect signatures. It's designed to silence us, to shut down grassroots movements, and to keep power locked in Tallahassee's political elite. But we're not backing down. Because we know what's at stake. Medicaid expansion could transform lives in every corner of Florida—from the Panhandle to the Keys. It would bring billions of our own federal tax dollars back to our state — money we're already sending to Washington, only to fund healthcare in other states. It would help stabilize struggling hospitals, especially in rural areas where 135 hospitals have closed since 2010. It would let people see a doctor without risking bankruptcy. This isn't welfare — it's common sense. More than 60% of the people who would benefit from expansion are part of working families. Medicaid helps people stay healthy enough to work, care for loved ones, and contribute to their communities. And study after study has shown that expansion wouldn't raise taxes — it would grow Florida's economy. Floridians get it. Nearly 8 in 10 — Republicans, Democrats and independents — support Medicaid expansion. It's not a partisan issue. It's a people issue. And when our elected officials refuse to act, the people have not just the right, but the responsibility, to do it themselves. That's what Florida's citizen-led amendment process is for. It's how we raised the minimum wage, legalized medical marijuana, and protected our land and water. It's a tool for communities to drive change when politicians won't. HB 1205 is not about accountability or transparency. It's about fear of the people and the power they hold. This law hacks away at a process that may need refining, but not destruction. It puts up traps and hurdles to ensure only the wealthy and politically connected can get an idea on the ballot. It is a direct assault on the will of the people. And if it's allowed to stand here, you can bet it will spread across the country. This is how democracy erodes — not in one sweeping moment, but in a thousand paper cuts to participation, voice, and power. But we're not letting that happen. We filed this lawsuit because we believe in the power of the people. We believe the single mother in Miami, the bus driver in Fort Myers, and the veteran in Jacksonville deserve a voice in the laws that shape their lives. Floridians — not politicians afraid of accountability — should have the final say. This lawsuit is our declaration: We will not let them rig the rules. We will not be silenced. We're collecting signatures. We're building coalitions. We're taking this fight from the courtroom to the streets to the ballot box. Because Medicaid expansion isn't just smart policy — it's a moral imperative. And the citizen initiative process isn't just a political tool—it's a right we will defend. Mitch Emerson is executive director of Florida Decides Healthcare.
Miami Herald
3 days ago
- Health
- Miami Herald
Medicaid expansion would be a lifeline for Floridians; that's why we're suing
Let's not sugarcoat it: Florida's healthcare policies are failing us. They're failing the single mother in Ocala who earns $15,000 a year working part-time and was recently diagnosed with cancer — but can't afford the treatment she needs to survive. They're failing rural hospitals on the brink of collapse. And they're failing the hundreds of thousands of Floridians stuck in the 'coverage gap'— earning too much to qualify for Medicaid, but too little to afford private insurance. And now, to make matters worse, our state's lawmakers have passed a law that aims to take away one of the last tools Floridians have to fix it: the power of citizen-led constitutional amendments. That's why Florida Decides Healthcare filed a federal lawsuit challenging the dangerous new law known as House Bill 1205. This isn't just about getting Medicaid expansion on the ballot. This is about defending the very foundation of our democracy: the people's right to be heard and to shape their own future. This law, signed by the governor, isn't reform. It's repression. HB 1205 is a cynical effort to make it harder for everyday Floridians — teachers, nurses, veterans, parents — to participate in their own government. It buries citizens in red tape, threatens them with criminal penalties, and intimidates them for simply trying to collect signatures. It's designed to silence us, to shut down grassroots movements, and to keep power locked in Tallahassee's political elite. But we're not backing down. Because we know what's at stake. Medicaid expansion could transform lives in every corner of Florida—from the Panhandle to the Keys. It would bring billions of our own federal tax dollars back to our state — money we're already sending to Washington, only to fund healthcare in other states. It would help stabilize struggling hospitals, especially in rural areas where 135 hospitals have closed since 2010. It would let people see a doctor without risking bankruptcy. This isn't welfare — it's common sense. More than 60% of the people who would benefit from expansion are part of working families. Medicaid helps people stay healthy enough to work, care for loved ones, and contribute to their communities. And study after study has shown that expansion wouldn't raise taxes — it would grow Florida's economy. Floridians get it. Nearly 8 in 10 — Republicans, Democrats and independents — support Medicaid expansion. It's not a partisan issue. It's a people issue. And when our elected officials refuse to act, the people have not just the right, but the responsibility, to do it themselves. That's what Florida's citizen-led amendment process is for. It's how we raised the minimum wage, legalized medical marijuana, and protected our land and water. It's a tool for communities to drive change when politicians won't. HB 1205 is not about accountability or transparency. It's about fear of the people and the power they hold. This law hacks away at a process that may need refining, but not destruction. It puts up traps and hurdles to ensure only the wealthy and politically connected can get an idea on the ballot. It is a direct assault on the will of the people. And if it's allowed to stand here, you can bet it will spread across the country. This is how democracy erodes — not in one sweeping moment, but in a thousand paper cuts to participation, voice, and power. But we're not letting that happen. We filed this lawsuit because we believe in the power of the people. We believe the single mother in Miami, the bus driver in Fort Myers, and the veteran in Jacksonville deserve a voice in the laws that shape their lives. Floridians — not politicians afraid of accountability — should have the final say. This lawsuit is our declaration: We will not let them rig the rules. We will not be silenced. We're collecting signatures. We're building coalitions. We're taking this fight from the courtroom to the streets to the ballot box. Because Medicaid expansion isn't just smart policy — it's a moral imperative. And the citizen initiative process isn't just a political tool—it's a right we will defend. Mitch Emerson is executive director of Florida Decides Healthcare.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
FL. District Judge weighs blocking new ballot initiative law
'Fear and uncertainty' about a new law targeting the state's ballot-initiative process has led to a significant drop in people working to collect signatures for 2026 ballot measures, groups challenging the law told a federal judge on Thursday. One of the most-controversial parts of the law, passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature on May 2 and immediately signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, shortens from 30 to 10 days the length of time to submit signed petitions to supervisors of elections. In addition, the law (HB 1205) includes hefty fines for petitions that are filed late and makes it a felony for petition gatherers to retain voters' personal information on petitions or make changes to completed petitions. Groups accused of 'substantial irregularities' in the petition process could face racketeering charges. Florida Decides Healthcare, a committee sponsoring a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at expanding Medicaid coverage, quickly filed the lawsuit this month to challenge parts of the law. Smart & Safe Florida, a committee behind a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow recreational marijuana, also is a plaintiff in the case. A similar marijuana proposal narrowly failed to pass in November, and the committee is trying to go back to voters in 2026. The groups on Thursday asked Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker for a preliminary injunction to block parts of the law, including the 10-day deadline. Lawyers for the groups argue in part, that the provisions unconstitutionally 'chill' political speech. The shortened time frame to submit petitions combined with the risk of fines for late submissions have erected an 'insurmountable barrier' for placement of initiatives on the 2026 ballot, Nicholas Steiner, an attorney with the Southern Poverty Law Center who represents Florida Decides Healthcare, told Walker. 'It's making it impossible, really, for FDH (Florida Decides Healthcare) to engage with the target audience,' he said. The 10-day turnaround 'has zero relation to fighting fraud or preserving ballot integrity,' Glenn Burhans, an attorney for Smart & Safe Florida, argued. The purpose of the quick turnaround 'is to squash the initiative process, pure and simple. It's stamping on speech,' Burhans said. Smart & Safe Florida has submitted more than 217,000 valid petition signatures to state elections officials, just shy of the 220,000 signatures that would trigger Florida Supreme Court review of the pot proposal and a required financial analysis. Groups need to submit roughly 880,000 signatures by Feb. 1 to make it on the November 2026 ballot. But Burhans pointed to a document filed Wednesday saying that Smart & Safe Florida's petition collections and workforce have shrunk since parts of the law, including the 10-day deadline, began taking effect this month. The group was collecting roughly 78,000 petitions a week and expected to surpass the 880,000 threshold by the end of June, according to a declaration by Meghan Cox, the founder and CEO of Groundgame Political Solutions, LLC. Cox's company provides ballot-initiative services to Smart & Safe Florida. Cox said the number of petitions has dropped to between 12,000 to 15,000 a week. In addition, the number of paid workers shrank by 1,100 since the law went into effect, an 85 percent workforce drop, 'and we don't know if we will gather enough to get on the ballot by the end of the year,' Cox's declaration said. Walker on Thursday asked Burhans whether the drop in workers or completed petitions could be attributed to a decline in support for the marijuana initiative. Burhans said the proposal has 'broad support' among voters. He noted that last year's marijuana measure, which appeared as Amendment 3 on the November ballot, received more than 5.9 million votes, which surpassed the votes for DeSantis when he was re-elected in 2022. Nearly 57 percent of Floridians voted for the marijuana measure, short of the 60 percent approval required to pass. After leading crusades to help defeat the marijuana measure and a proposal that would have placed abortion rights in the state Constitution, DeSantis called on the Legislature to make changes to the ballot-initiative process. Many Republican leaders and groups such as the Florida Chamber of Commerce have long argued that policy decisions should be made by the Legislature, not through amending the Constitution. Burhans argued that the new law is designed to 'undercut the success Amendment 3' had last year. Mohammad Jazil, an attorney who represents the state, told Walker that the Legislature has the authority to establish regulations for the ballot-initiative process. The judge pressed him about part of the law restricting groups from retaining 'personal information,' which the plaintiffs maintain is vague and overbroad. The Legislature 'is the sausage makers,' Jazil said. But Walker said that, in more than one previous case, he's found that the sausage is 'just nasty.' 'Sometimes the sausage they produce down the street (in the Capitol) is nasty and they shouldn't serve it,' Walker observed. 'The question is, is the sausage edible,' Jazil responded. The 10-day timeline, Jazil said, would give supervisors more time to validate petitions, which groups sometimes drop off in bundles of hundreds. The shortened timeframe could prevent a logjam for local elections officials, Jazil said. But Burhans referred to another part of the law that freezes supervisors of elections' validation of petitions from July 1 through Sept. 30, which he said 'cuts directly against the excuse' that the 10-day turnaround helps supervisors. 'The sausage is not only bad, it's rancid and it's filled with maggots,' Burhans said. Florida Decides Healthcare has 'seen a lot of direct impacts' from the new law, Ben Stafford,who represents the committee, told reporters after Thursday's hearing. 'Not just some of the logistical hurdles and impossibilities that were laid out in the arguments, but real Floridians are saying they are simply not comfortable participating in a process that might now expose them to felony convictions for things where they are not attempting to do anything wrong,' Stafford, an attorney with the Elias Law Group LLP, said. Other groups that have joined the lawsuit include the League of Women Voters of Florida. Walker on Wednesday granted a request by backers of a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at protecting clean water to also join the lawsuit. Walker did not immediately rule on the preliminary injunction, but Mitch Emerson, executive director of Florida Decides Healthcare, said he was hopeful the judge will grant the request to block the law. 'It's about protecting every Floridan's right to have a voice in our democracy. We are optimistic that the court will grant the request for a preliminary injunction and restore the rules that have governed the ballot initiative process for years,' Emerson told reporters. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
In court hearing, attorneys debate palatability of new restrictions on citizens' initiatives
Florida Decides Healthcare Executive Director Mitch Emerson talks to reporters in Tallahassee outside the federal courthouse May 22, 2025. (Photo by Christine Sexton/Florida Phoenix) A federal court hearing held Thursday to determine the fate of Florida's strict new law on ballot initiatives veered into culinary criticism as an attorney compared the measure to 'sausage.' Attorneys for the DeSantis administration insisted that sausage is edible while those on the other side called it 'rancid.' Florida legislators passed the law after citizens' initiatives to allow abortion and recreational pot nearly passed last November. Critics contend that the new law — with all of its restrictions on groups and who can collect signatures — will make it nearly impossible for outside organizations to ever place an initiative on the ballot in the future. Groups have challenged the new law — which was a top priority for Gov. Ron DeSantis — on grounds that it violates their rights to free speech and due process. During the hearing, Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker listened to about three hours of testimony on Florida Decides Healthcare's and Smart & Safe Florida's request that he block certain provisions of the law while the legal challenge moves ahead — including a requirement that sponsors turn in completed petitions within 10 days after the voter signs the petition, as well as stepped up fines and criminal penalties. Walker, who posed pointed questions to both sides, asked everyone to 'please be patient,' as he considers his ruling. Florida Decides is behind a campaign to put a Medicaid expansion on the ballot in November 2026. Smart & Safe Florida is behind a renewed initiative to make recreational marijuana legal for adults in Florida. Both groups need to collect and certify 880,000 voter signatures before Feb. 1 of next year to make the November 2026 ballot. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Tallahassee attorney Glenn Burhans Jr. said that, prior to the new law taking effect, Smart & Safe Florida was collecting 78,000 signatures per week. Since the law took effect, he said, the group is collecting between 12,000 and 15,000 signatures per week. He said that 1,100 petition circulators who were out in the field have been 'lost' due to the law with its felony penalties. 'That places the ability to get this on the ballot in peril,' he said. Burhans noted that the law not only condenses the time to submit a petition, it doesn't allow for the period to be extended to account for office closures or holidays — the Legislature, he noted, rejected such extensions. That means petition collectors could have as little as seven days to turn in the forms, he said. Burhans used the coming Memorial Day Weekend as an example, noting that supervisors of elections offices will be closed from May 24-27. If Smart& Safe Florida collected 1,700 signatures on May 16 but didn't deliver them before an office closed, it could face fines of upward of $255,000 ($85,000 a day times three days). 'Your honor, that's real life. That's impact,' he said. Tallahassee attorney Mohammad Jazil, representing Secretary of State Cord Byrd, said that the timeline was condensed from 30 days to 10 days to give the supervisors of elections more time to review the petitions and sniff out fraudulent forms. The state intends to keep language in its rules and regulations that would allow sponsors to deliver petitions outside the 10-day time frame for holidays and office closures, Jazil said. Walker pressed Jazil on some points, such as what constitutes personal identifying information that must be placed on the petitions. Jazil defended HB 1205 and at one point noted that legislation being made was like watching sausage get made — a famously distasteful process. Jazil joked that this sausage, HB 1205, was edible. 'Sometimes the sausage aren't real tasty, that's why we have challenges here,' Walker replied. In his rebuttal, Burhans said the law bans supervisors from reviewing ballots between July 1 and September 1. That, he said, doesn't give supervisors more time, but instead creates a 90-day log jam. Additionally, Burhans stressed that HB 1205 specifically removed language from statute allowing for extensions for holidays and office closures. Agencies cannot promulgate rules contrary to law, he said. 'The sausage is not only bad, it's rancid and filled with maggots,' Burhans said. Mitch Emerson, executive director of Florida Decides Healthcare, told reporters following the hearing that he was optimistic. 'We had the opportunity to make it very clear why this law is unconstitutional and un-American. This isn't just about one campaign. It's about protecting every Floridian's right,' he said. Blocking the law, he continued, would return the state to the existing rules that petition gathers have relied on for years. 'This means giving people back the ability to organize, gather signatures, and bring issues directly to the ballot without fear, confusion.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
The Independent
22-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Campaigners urge judge to block new restrictions to getting measures on Florida's ballot
Every day that a new Florida law remains on the books restricting the state's process to get citizens' initiatives on the ballot, the First Amendment rights of campaigners are being infringed upon, their attorneys argued in court Thursday. The lawyers claim the measure signed into law by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis this month has already dealt significant blows to campaigns to expand Medicaid and legalize recreational marijuana in the state. Organizers for the measures are urging a judge to block portions of the law from being enforced while their challenge plays out in court. Both campaigns are gathering signatures in the hopes of getting their initiatives on the 2026 ballot, a prospect they say could be effectively impossible under the new law, which creates criminal penalties for campaigners who don't comply with its stricter requirements. Nick Steiner, an attorney for the Southern Poverty Law Center who's representing the Medicaid expansion group Florida Decides Healthcare, said the law creates an 'insurmountable barrier' for the campaign. 'The harm is compounding every day,' Steiner added. Under the new law, campaigns have 10 days instead of the previous 30 to return signed petition forms to local elections officials. They face stiffer fines if they don't return the petitions on time, or send them to the wrong county. And volunteers could be charged with a felony if they collect more than 25 signed ballot petitions, other than their own or those of immediate family members, and don't register with the state as a petition circulator. Lawmakers argue that the new restrictions are needed to reform a process they claim has been tainted by fraud. The Republican-controlled Legislature pushed the changes months after a majority of Florida voters supported ballot initiatives to protect abortion rights and legalize recreational marijuana, though the measures fell short of the 60% needed to pass. The new law is designed to 'undercut the success' of the previous ballot measures, argued attorney Glenn Burhans, who's representing the recreational marijuana campaign group Smart & Safe Florida. Mohammad Jazil, an attorney representing Secretary of State Cord Byrd, defended the law, saying 'these aren't draconian fines and penalties that are going to lead to ruin." Still, he acknowledged the seriousness of Floridians risking felony charges — and their right to vote — if they run afoul of the law while working for a political campaign, saying 'getting arrested is a big deal.' Since the first aspects of the law took effect May 2, the campaigns say they've seen their volunteer forces shrink and the number of weekly signatures they collect plummet. At times, U.S. District Judge Mark Walker appeared amenable to the campaigns' arguments. Walker is known for his colorful commentary in court — and has been a vocal critic of DeSantis' policies. Prompted by Jazil's defense of the Legislature's 'sausage making," Walker continued with an extended metaphor about what lawmakers have been cooking up — and whether it's legally palatable. 'Sometimes the sausage isn't real tasty,' said Walker. Sometimes, he said, it's 'nasty.' The question for the court to decide, Jazil replied, isn't whether the sausage tastes good, but whether it's edible. 'Your honor, the sausage is not only bad, it's rancid and filled with maggots," Burhans countered. 'And it should be enjoined.' Walker declined to rule from the bench Thursday, saying he'll draft his ruling as soon as he can.
