The Florida Legislature’s annual assault on Working Families has come to an end. The final week saw a flurry of legislation guaranteeing an apocalyptic future for Floridians, and as the smoke clears the dystopian reality is becoming clear. Check out our final video of the year to see the last minute attack unfold and how the activists form the Working Families Lobby Corps stood strong against the politicians and their big-money friends.
Legislative
2019 End of Session Brief
See below for pass/fail overview of the major working family issues we followed during the 2019 Legislative Session. Click here for a downloadable version of the brief.
Stay tuned this weekend to our Facebook and Youtube pages for your union legislative update video finale, “Sine Die” edition.
🎥 2019 Legislative Update Week 8
Florida’s Legislative Session is winding down, but the attacks on working families are still coming at full force. Committee meetings have ended so the final shape of our dark dystopian future is taking focus. The politicians and their big-industry allies continued the assault on public education, local control and healthcare access, setting up an apocalyptic reality for working Floridians. Thankfully, the Working Families Lobby Corps was there to meet their attack and help preserve Florida for future generations.
🎥 2019 Legislative Update Week 7
Week 7 of Legislative Session saw the politicians pull out all the stops in their attack on working families. Political tricks and last-minute amendments were used to be sure the big-money special interests were taken care of at the expense of Florida’s future generations. Public school safety and funding, access to healthcare and our constitutional rights were all under attack, and the Working Families Lobby Corps was there to fight back!
Join the Working Families Lobby Corps
As interim committee weeks begin for the 2019 Legislative Session, are you ready to take action at the capitol to defend the rights of working people in our state?
The Working Families Lobby Corps is now entering its 9th year of holding our elected officials accountable all session long, and your voice will help defend workers rights in Tallahassee.
🎥 2019 Legislative Update Week 6
We have passed the halfway point of Legislative Session and the attacks keep coming! Watch as the activists in the Working Families Lobby Corps fight back against the continued onslaught driven by big-money interests and the politicians who do their bidding. Our Constitutional rights, public education and school safety were again targeted by the Legislature and working Floridians were there to meet them on the battlefield that will determine our future!
🚨LEG ALERT: SB 7096 in the Appropriations Subcommittee Tuesday, April 9th
On Tuesday, April 9th, SB 7096 will be heard in the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development. This bill is currently moving forward in both the Senate and the House and we need to take every opportunity available to tell our Senators to VOTE NO on this Anti-Voter Initiative Bill.
If your Senator is listed below, they sit on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development, and will be voting on this legislation next Tuesday, April 9th. This might be your final opportunity to act before it goes to a full Senate vote, so call their office and urge them to stand up for YOUR Constitutional Rights by voting NO on SB 7096.
| Travis Hutson | (850) 487-5007 |
| Perry Thurston, Jr | (850) 487-5033 |
| Jeff Brandes | (850) 487-5024 |
| Tom Lee | (850) 487-5020 |
| Keith Perry | (850) 487-5008 |
| Wilton Simpson | (850) 487-5010 |
| Annette Taddeo | (850) 487-5040 |
| Victor Torres, Jr | (850) 487-5015 |
This Bill will make the already burdensome process of having an initiative placed on the ballot nearly impossible. Of the states which allow for a citizen’s initiative, Florida already has the most difficult requirements to place an item on the ballot and have it pass once there.
Phone calls to offices are great, but there are other options to contact your representatives if they do not sit on the committee that will take this crucial vote on Tuesday.
CLICK HEREto sign the petition urging your Legislators to VOTE NO on this voice-stealing legislation.
CLICK HERE for a list of Legislators and their Twitter handles.
Tweet your Senators and Representatives to let them know they need to
oppose this anti-voter legislation with the hashtag #FLVoterVoice.
Tell the members of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development NOT to eliminate YOUR Constitutional Rights and vote NO on SB 7096:
- This bill would limit free speech by only allowing Florida citizens to collect signatures
- Volunteers must register with the state to collect petitions, meaning they must register to exercise their first amendment rights
- If a petition collector is ruled ineligible the signatures of the voters who signed the petitions will be ruled invalid without their knowledge
- This bill could let the government place unfair and biased language on the ballot for initiatives they don’t support
Supporters of the proposed changes claim the bill addresses current issues with the citizen initiative process. These pretenses show their true motive is to eliminate the citizen initiative process, not protect our voting process:
- Fraud is statistically nonexistent in the initiative process, and it
is disingenuous to use it as reasoning to further erode our constitutional rights - The amount of amendments passed by the Legislature, CRC and TBRC outnumber citizen initiatives 3-1, meaning citizen initiatives do not overburden the process
- Some of the past citizen initiatives have led to rights restoration, homestead exemptions, increased minimum wage and tax exemptions. These are not frivolous amendments and represent the wishes of the citizens who worked to place them on the ballot and those who voted to enact them.
This is an important bill that could have lasting ramifications on
the future of our democratic process and constitutional rights.
Call the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development and tell them NOT to further erode your Constitutional Rights by voting NO on SB 7096.
🎥 2019 Legislative Update Week 5
The battle for Florida’s future continued in week five of Legislative Session. The politicians have drawn the battle lines and Working Families Lobby Corps Activists were there to meet them head on. Hopefully for the future of Florida they will be able to stand up to the Legislature and special interests looking to bring certain apocalypse on the state.
🎥 2019 Legislative Update Week 4
Week 4 saw the biggest attack on working families so far during the 2019 Legislative Session. This week the activists in Tallahassee faced further cuts to public education, arming teachers, preemption of local ordinances and an unconstitutional attack on our democratic process. Watch this week’s video to see how they fought back against the impending apocalypse this legislation threatens to bring.
🚨LEG ALERT: SB 7096 in the Judiciary Committee Monday, April 1st
On Monday, April 1st, SB 7096 will be heard at 4:00 p.m. in the Senate Judiciary Committee. This bill continues a decade-long attempt to eliminate your ability to amend the State Constitution through ballot initiative.
If your Senator is listed below call their office Monday April 1st before 4:00 p.m. and urge them to stand up for YOUR Constitutional Rights by voting NO on SB 7096.
| David Simmons | (850) 487-5009 |
| Jose Javier Rodriguez | (850) 487-5037 |
| Dennis Baxley | (850) 487-5012 |
| Audrey Gibson | (850) 487-5006 |
| Travis Hutson | (850) 487-5007 |
| Kelli Stargell | (850) 487-5022 |
This Bill will make the already burdensome process of having an initiative placed on the ballot nearly impossible. Of the states which allow for a citizen’s initiative, Florida already has the most difficult requirements to place an item on the ballot and have it pass once there.
Tell the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee NOT to eliminate YOUR Constitutional Rights and vote NO on SB 7096:
- This bill would limit free speech by only allowing Florida citizens to collect signatures
- Volunteers must register with the state to collect petitions, meaning they must register to exercise their first amendment rights
- If a petition collector is ruled ineligible the signatures of the voters who signed the petitions will be ruled invalid without their knowledge
- The popular vote threshold to pass would increase to a 2/3 majority, not the 60% currently required
Supporters of the proposed changes claim the bill addresses current issues with the citizen initiative process. These pretenses show their true motive is to eliminate the citizen initiative process, not protect our voting process:
- Fraud is statistically nonexistent in the initiative process, and it
is disingenuous to use it as reasoning to further erode our constitutional rights - The amount of amendments passed by the Legislature, CRC and TBRC outnumber citizen initiatives 3-1, meaning citizen initiatives do not overburden the process
- Some of the past citizen initiatives have led to rights restoration, homestead exemptions, increased minimum wage and tax exemptions. These are not frivolous amendments and represent the wishes of the citizens who worked to place them on the ballot and those who voted to enact them.
This is an important bill that could have lasting ramifications on
the future of our democratic process and constitutional rights.
Call the Senate Judiciary Committee and tell them NOT to further erode your Constitutional Rights by voting NO on SB 7096.