Latest news with #SB520
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Speaker Perez says 'embarrassing' UF presidential search could have been avoided
The Plaza of the Americas on University of Florida's Gainesville campus (Photo by Jay Waagmeester/Florida Phoenix) The University of Florida presidential search failing in its last minutes could have been avoided if the House had its way this session, Speaker Daniel Perez said Thursday. 'Neither the University of Florida nor the Board of Governors, nor (Santa) Ono would have been in this position,' had HB 1321 been in effect before the presidential search, Perez said during a media availability. Representatives voted 104-8 on that bill this session, which would have repealed the public records exemption on applicants for presidencies at state colleges and universities. The Senate companion bill, SB 1726, cleared all its committees of reference, but the full Senate never considered it. Back to the drawing board: UF presidential finalist nixed for conflicting DEI stances The State University System Board of Governors rejected University of Michigan President Santa Ono during the final phase of the presidential search process this week. The 6-10 vote against Ono followed hours of questions about his conflicting stances on diversity, equity, and inclusion. He was unanimously approved by UF trustees the week before. 'All of the deficiencies that Ono had prior to the presidential search coming to a conclusion, and eventually going before the BOG would have been discovered,' Perez said. 'It was not discovered because no one knew that Ono was the one that was going to be nominated, unanimously approved, and sent to the BOG.' The House sponsor of the bill, Rep. Michelle Salzman, said the measure was about 'transparency, term limiting bureaucrats, and good governance.' Gov. Ron DeSantis said the bill, which included a provision prohibiting his office's involvement in searches, would 'kneecap our ability to hold higher ed accountable.' The law that put secrets in the dark once had the support of Perez. State law, since the signing of SB 520 in 2022, requires university presidential searches to be conducted outside the public eye, none of the applicants known to the public unless part of the 'shortlist' of finalists unveiled in the final phases, and the finalist(s) must be approved by the chair of the Board of Governors. That bill passed the House 86-26, with Perez voting in favor. 'What many fought back on was that the BOG chair had to have the veto power. Well, he had the veto power. He never used it. And then here we are with a presidential candidate for a major university, flagship university for the state of Florida, in a very embarrassing moment for the entire state of Florida, something that should have been avoided, could have been avoided,' Perez said. UF has twice, consecutively, named a sole finalist despite the 'shortlist' language in law. Perez said the school will have a problem trying to find a president now that the 'process is flawed.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Opponents of the House proposal have said keeping searches confidential initially prevents a candidate's current employer from discovering their employee is applying for a new job. That, in turn, encourages more candidates to apply. Senate President Ben Albritton doesn't see the issue as clearly as Perez. Albritton replied to Perez's comments in his own media availability held about an hour after Perez's. 'I'm not sure it would have' avoided Ono's rejection, Albritton said. 'One way to look at it would be that way. Another way to look at it would say that the system worked.' Albritton added: 'I applaud the Speaker and the House for taking it head on. It's a complicated situation. Let's keep talking about it.' The Legislature is not poised to address policy issues unrelated to the budget in the final days of its extended session. 'Are there some circumstances where it would be better to have multiple [finalists]? Maybe. Are there some circumstances you're better off to have one? Maybe,' Albritton said. 'I'm not going to give you something definitive at this point.' Perez said he hopes changes can come before any more searches fail. 'The House tried for this to never happen. Yet we were the only ones that believed in that policy. I still believe in that policy,' Perez said. 'Hopefully, now that we have seen this example come to fruition and become a reality, unfortunately, we can now once again have that consideration and that conversation of the policy that the House passed.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill banning DEI in Arkansas local government sent to governor's desk
State Rep. Alyssa Brown speaks in favor of bill that would prohibit DEI in local government on April 14, 2025. (Ainsley Platt/Arkansas Advocate) Legislation banning diversity, equity and inclusion policies and practices at the local level passed the Arkansas House of Representatives Monday, sending the bill to the governor's desk. Senate Bill 520 is one of several bills targeting culture war issues that have been taken up during the 2025 legislative session. The bill, if it becomes law, would prohibit DEI 'offices, officers, policies, or practices in local government.' Under the proposed law, local governments would be prohibited from implementing hiring and employment policies that take into account diversity, equity and inclusion, DEI offices, or programs, policies, practices or applicant statements that promote DEI. Local officials or contractors would also be prohibited from compelling another official or contractor to 'personally affirm, adopt, or adhere' to certain beliefs or ideals specified in the bill. Private citizens would have a right to sue local governments if they do not cease violations of the prohibition within 30 days of being notified under the bill. Senate Bill 520 is sponsored by Rep. Alyssa Brown, R-Heber Springs, in the House and Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro, in the Senate. Sullivan also sponsored Act 116 of 2025, which repealed state affirmative action programs and prohibited 'discrimination or preferential treatment by state entities.' Sullivan told the Senate last week that the state needed to align itself with the current presidential administration's positions on DEI. President Donald Trump issued an executive order in January that shut down DEI programs within the federal government, and the government has targeted federal grants for cancellation for not complying with the administration's positions on DEI. Rep. Jessie McGruder, D-Marion, criticized the bill on the House floor Monday, asking why SB 520 was targeting local governments when state GOP lawmakers placed so much emphasis on maintaining and returning 'local control' to cities and counties. 'I'm trying to get an understanding of why we're doing this, because we always say 'local control,'' McGruder said. 'So each city should be able to control what's happening within their community. We don't understand the differences in the dynamics that occur in each and every community.' Brown appeared to take issue with McGruder's comments when closing for her bill. 'We don't get to gaslight members with this idea of local control that takes away what is deemed constitutional. We wouldn't let a local government take away the Second Amendment rights of their citizens,' Brown said. 'This bill is about making sure we're consistent with what we've passed on a state level.' Brown added that 'discrimination is illegal under federal and state civil rights law, but this bill ensures that in the process of preventing discrimination, we do not allow our local government to discriminate in its policies.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Arkansas Senate approves ban on DEI policies in local governments; bill heads to House
Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro, prepares to present Senate Bill 520 to his fellow senators on Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate) Arkansas senators on Tuesday approved a proposed ban on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) 'offices, officers, policies or practices' in local government entities. Senate Bill 520 would prohibit local governments from promoting: 'Preferences based upon race, color, sex, ethnicity, or national origin; Differential treatment on the basis of race, color, sex, ethnicity, or national origin; or Political or social activism to consider race, color, sex, ethnicity, or national origin as factors in decision-making, except when required by federal or state law.' The bill would allow Arkansans to sue local governments for injunctive relief if the government does not cease violating the mandate within 30 days of being notified. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro is the lead sponsor of SB 520 and earlier this year sponsored Act 116 of 2025. The law repealed requirements that state procurement proposals include language that encourages minority participation or to adopt an equal opportunity hiring program designed to increase the percentage of minority employees. Sullivan claimed Act 116 would force public entities to prioritize 'merit' over 'preferential treatment' in contracting and hiring practices. The language of SB 520 aligns both with Act 116 and with Arkansas ACCESS, a higher education overhaul bill approved in March, Sullivan told the Senate City, County and Local Affairs Committee on Tuesday morning. ACCESS prohibits institutions of higher education from 'comply[ing] with any institutional accreditation requirement related to DEI.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Sullivan told both the committee and the full Senate that Arkansas should align itself with the federal government's stance on DEI. President Donald Trump's January executive order declared an end to all DEI 'mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities' in federal agencies. Arnessa Bennett, North Little Rock's DEI officer, told the committee that she and the city oppose SB 520. She said it would discourage local governments from holding events in partnership with organizations that have DEI policies. 'We feel like you're violating our First Amendment rights in telling us that we cannot say anything about DEI,' Bennett said. '…It's almost like we're being censored.' The all-Republican committee passed the bill with no audible dissent. The committee also approved the addition of an amendment to the bill, stating: 'This section does not prevent compliance with any state or federal civil rights laws or any agreement related to the receipt of state or federal funding.' Bills usually are not heard by the full House or Senate until at least a day after passing committees, but Sullivan asked the Senate to suspend the rules so SB 520 could receive a vote Tuesday evening. Twenty-two of the 29 Republican senators voted for SB 520. Senate President Pro Tempore Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, joined the six Senate Democrats in voting against the bill. GOP Sens. Tyler Dees of Siloam Springs and Jim Petty of Van Buren voted present, and four more Republicans did not vote. Sen. Reginald Murdock, D-Marianna, was the only senator to speak on the bill before the vote. He also spoke against Act 116 in January, and he said Tuesday that the state should not 'bring this craziness all the way to the local level.' 'Let's allow local control to make their decisions on how they want to deal with their communities,' Murdock said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Miami Herald
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
DeSantis' cronyism has undermined Florida's universities. Is FIU next?
The integrity of Florida's public universities is under siege, and at the center of it all is Gov. Ron DeSantis' blatant cronyism. His latest apparent maneuver — the Miami Herald reported Thursday he seems to be positioning Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez of Miami as the front-runner for the presidency of Florida International University — offers yet another example of prioritizing of political loyalty over academic excellence. This potential move, likely leaked to the media as a test balloon, follows a disturbing pattern of DeSantis' direct interference in Florida's higher education system, with qualified candidates sidelined in favor of political allies, a trend that threatens to erode the credibility of the state's institutions of learning. Now FIU, South Florida's largest, public, four-year university, is in danger of being used by a governor to reward a loyalist. And DeSantis appears to be in a university president-naming frenzy. On Friday, Torey Alston, a former Broward County school board member named to that post by DeSantis, was picked to head Broward College. And at Florida Atlantic University in Palm Beach County, former state legislator and private prison executive Adam Hasner, is viewed as the DeSantis favorite for the top job. Nuñez's potential appointment — the news broke this week as FIU was floated as a possible location for a Donald Trump presidential library — is problematic on multiple levels. While she is an FIU alumna and has high-level political experience, her qualifications to lead a major public university are glaringly insufficient. As a former healthcare lobbyist and longtime state legislator, Nuñez lacks the extensive academic leadership background necessary to oversee a complex institution like FIU, which serves over 56,000 students and has recently been recognized among the nation's top 100 universities. Founded in 1965 at its main campus in Southwest Miami-Dade, FIU's Modesto Maidique campus has become a small city and a deep part of the community. FIU is a research university, too, with medical and law schools. The $1-million-a-year FIU presidency isn't a ceremonial post. It requires expertise in academic governance, attracting research entities, high-level fund raising, faculty relations and student affairs. Nuñez, a somewhat low-key lieutenant governor, has no such experience. Unfortunately, Nuñez's case is not an anomaly in Florida. A law passed in 2022 law (SB 520), championed by DeSantis, made university presidential searches secret until finalists are named. That has allowed an environment where political maneuvering can thrive, and top candidates seem to appear out of thin air. This lack of transparency has already given Florida partisan presidential appointments at the University of Florida, New College, South Florida State College and State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota. In each case, no other candidates were named, or the top candidate was a DeSantis favorite and a foregone conclusion. In other words, DeSantis picked the presidents, and now, it seems, they are reshaping Florida's higher education landscape to his liking. And that's what appears to be the aim of Nuñez's rumored appointment. The consequences of this political meddling extend beyond mere optics. By installing unqualified political figures at the helm of Florida's universities, DeSantis is rewarding friends, but weakening these institutions and the ability to attract top-tier faculty and researchers. That could leave Florida's public universities lagging behind national competitors. DeSantis' political stronghold over Florida's universities goes beyond the presidencies. His administration has waged war against tenure protections, and defunded diversity, equity and inclusion programs. No doubt, Nuñez would come with that agenda in hand. Ultimately, the result is an increasingly hostile environment for scholars and students who seek an institution free from ideological interference. Higher education should be a marketplace of ideas, not a breeding ground for political patronage. The sudden emergence of the governor's lieutenant governor as a possible top candidate for the FIU presidency — when it hasn't even been confirmed that the current president, Kenneth Jessell, is leaving — will only feed public distrust of the process. And this is a public university. If DeSantis successfully installs Nuñez at FIU, it will be a signal to every aspiring academic leader in Florida: your politics are more important than credentials and experience. Click here to send the letter.
