Latest news with #SenateCommunityAffairsCommittee
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Proposal to ban flags that represent political viewpoints in schools & public buildings advances
The rainbow flag of the gay pride movement and the flag of the United States (Getty Images) Members of the LGBTQ community unsuccessfully urged members of a Senate committee on Tuesday to reject a proposal that would ban local governments and public colleges and universities from displaying a flag that represents a political viewpoint. Including ones that represent a 'racial, sexual orientation and gender, or politically ideology viewpoint.' The measure (SB 100) is sponsored by Republicans Randy Fine from Brevard County and Jonathan Martin from Lee County. 'If someone wants to walk in here draped in a flag of any political group, so be it, it's their First Amendment right. If you want to hang it your yard, so be it. But a teacher should not be hanging a political flag in their classroom, having a government take a position on political views,' Fine told the Senate Community Affairs Committee. 'That is the idea. You shouldn't be hanging them on flagpoles. Government should be in the governing business. Politics should be left to the politicians.' LGBTQ advocates said the measure is aimed at local governments that display the Pride flag in June during Pride Month, and argued there is no compelling reason to pass such mandates on to local governments. 'The flag ban bill is unnecessary, unclear, unconstitutional, and dangerous,' said Jon Harris Mauer, public policy director with Equality Florida. 'This bill is unnecessary. It does not help Floridians struggling with insurance and housing affordability. Instead it is a made-up solution to a cultural war for political purposes. But it will have real harms.' 'It's wrong because LGBTQ+ is not political and this bill sends a message that our diversity shouldn't be celebrated and people identifying as LGBTQ+ should be ashamed of who they are and hurts the fight against bullying,' said Tallahassee resident Colton Taylor. 'I believe we should embrace each other lovingly, have compassion, see each other's humanity, protect the LGBTQ+ community, and recognize that diversity is our strength.' John Labriola with the Christian Family Coalition of Florida supported the bill. 'The bill does not mention LGBTQ flags but it does say that you can't have political flags, which that flag would be,' he said. After he was challenged on that assertion by South Florida Democratic Sen. Shevrin Jones that the Pride and/or Black Lives Matter flags were political, he fired back. 'The LGBT flag promotes a specific viewpoint that there should be special rights for LGBT people which isn't going —' Labriola began. 'Special rights or equal rights?' Jones interjected. 'No, special rights. We believe in equal rights. We don't believe in special rights,' Labriola said. Perhaps most controversially, the bill would allow active or retired members of the armed forces or National Guard to 'take reasonable efforts to stop someone from desecration, destruction, or removal of the United States flag.' 'I don't want a retired military person to want or feel that they would have to enforce this bill,' said Naples Republican Kathleen Passidomo. 'I do not want to see a 90-year-old veteran getting into an altercation with someone twice his size.' Although she supported it on Tuesday, Passidomo, chair of the Rules Committee, said that unless constitutional problems are resolved for the measure, 'I don't see it going forward.' Fine argued that the citizens who spoke out about how their First Amendment rights would be violated if the measure passed wouldn't feel the same way if some of those local governments were flying 'Make America Great Again' flags. The bill passed along party lines. With Fine leaving the Senate today to campaign for a congressional seat next week, Lee County Republican Sen. Jonathan Martin will carry the bill the rest of the way this session. It has one more committee stop before making it to the floor. The measure's House companion (HB 75) is being sponsored by Republicans Berny Jacques from Pinellas County and David Borrero from Miami-Dade County. It has yet to be heard in any committee so far. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
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.
Miami Herald
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Bill to block local governments from regulating Trump's library moves in Tallahassee
A proposal that would block local government oversight of the construction and management of an anticipated presidential library in Florida for President Donald Trump cleared its first Senate committee Tuesday. Without comment, the Senate Community Affairs Committee unanimously backed a measure (SB 118), filed by Sen. Jason Brodeur, R-Sanford, that would prevent local governments from regulating construction and operation of presidential libraries. Brodeur said after the meeting he wants to ensure local governments don't impose construction 'impediments,' amid expectations that a library will be built in Florida, with Trump a Palm Beach resident. 'I think there's a history in the state of Florida from local municipalities giving President Trump problems with some of the zoning things that he's had, whether it's a helicopter pad or the size of his flag,' Brodeur said. 'With us having the opportunity to actually have the first presidential library ever [in Florida], and there's so few in the United States … that this would really be a landmark thing for Florida. And we wanted to make sure that we had rolled out the welcome mat as best we could.' FLORIDA POLITICS: Could FIU land the Trump presidential library? A Trump lawyer has toured the campus In 2006, Trump fought Palm Beach after he put an 80-foot pole at the entrance to his Mar-a-Lago Club, according to The Palm Beach Post. Trump sued after the town said the pole exceeded ordinances regarding height and location. A settlement resulted in Trump getting to put up a 70-foot pole in a different location at the club. In 2017, Palm Beach approved, through a resolution, the creation of a helicopter landing pad for Marine One at Mar-a-Lago. The resolution, backed by the U.S. Marine Corps for security reasons, received some pushback, with one resident arguing helicopter landings would exceed the town's noise limits. Brodeur's bill is filed for consideration during the legislative session that will start March 4. It would prohibit local governments from enacting or enforcing ordinances, resolutions or rules related to presidential libraries, except when such measures are authorized by federal law. Rep. Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola, has filed an identical bill in the House (HB 69). Currently, the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library is a website administered by the National Archives and Records Administration. It has been in operation since Trump left office in 2021 after his first term. He returned to the White House last month. The national archives system runs 13 presidential libraries in 10 states. A library for President Barack Obama is under construction in Chicago and will be the 14th in the system. Four of the libraries are tied with universities. Brodeur said he expects the Florida university system would 'welcome' such a conversation.
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Welcome Mat' Rolling Out for Trump Library
A proposal that would block local government oversight of the construction and management of an anticipated presidential library in Florida for President Donald Trump cleared its first Senate committee Tuesday. Without comment, the Senate Community Affairs Committee unanimously backed a measure (SB 118), filed by Sen. Jason Brodeur, R-Sanford, that would prevent local governments from regulating the construction and operation of presidential libraries. After the meeting, Brodeur said he wants to ensure local governments don't impose construction 'impediments' amid expectations that a library will be built in Florida with Trump, a Palm Beach resident. Read: Pope Francis health: Pontiff shows signs of bilateral pneumonia 'I think there's a history in the state of Florida from local municipalities giving President Trump problems with some of the zoning things that he's had, whether it's a helicopter pad or the size of his flag,' Brodeur said. 'With us having the opportunity to actually have the first presidential library ever (in Florida), and there's so few in the United States … that this would really be a landmark thing for Florida. And we wanted to make sure that we had rolled out the welcome mat as best we could.' According to The Palm Beach Post, in 2006, Trump fought Palm Beach after he put an 80-foot pole at the entrance to his Mar-a-Lago Club. Trump sued after the town said the pole exceeded ordinances regarding height and location. A settlement resulted in Trump getting to put up a 70-foot pole in a different location at the club. In 2017, Palm Beach approved, through a resolution, the creation of a helicopter landing pad for Marine One at Mar-a-Lago. The resolution, backed by the U.S. Marine Corps for security reasons, received some pushback, with one resident arguing helicopter landings would exceed the town's noise limits. Read: SeaWorld Orlando's Seven Seas Food Festival expands with new performers and the return of Mardi Gras Brodeur's bill is filed for consideration during the legislative session that starts March 4. It would prohibit local governments from enacting or enforcing ordinances, resolutions, or rules related to presidential libraries, except when such measures are authorized by federal law. Rep. Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola, has filed an identical bill in the House (HB 69). Currently, the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library is a website administered by the National Archives and Records Administration. It has been in operation since Trump left office in 2021 after his first term. He returned to the White House last month. Read: Florida man accused of sexually battering teen he met online The national archives system runs 13 presidential libraries in 10 states. A library for President Barack Obama is under construction in Chicago and will be the 14th in the system. Four of the libraries are tied with universities. Brodeur said he expects the Florida university system would 'welcome' such a conversation. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
