
The Florida House, operating through a protest led by Black Caucus members, pushed through approval of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ plan to redraw Florida’s congressional districts on Thursday.
After abandoning the chamber for a little more than an hour, Speaker Chris Sprowls and his fellow Republicans returned and called the vote on the DeSantis map, which eliminates Black “access” seats in North and Central Florida, cutting Black Democratic representation in half.
The vote was 68-38. Since the Senate has already approved the plan, it goes to DeSantis to be signed into law and will govern this year’s midterm elections.
In quick order, the leadership used the same tactic to approve two bills targeting The Walt Disney Co., which spoke out against the “Parental Rights in Education Act,” also known as the “Don’t Say Gay,” law that DeSantis signed earlier this spring.
That law restricts classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools — in grades K-3 but also in higher grades in some circumstances.
Slogans
Throughout the rushed votes, Reps. Travaris McCurdy of Orange County, Angie Nixon of Duval, and Felicia Robinson of Miami-Dade sat on the floor in the well of the chamber, right on top of the House seal woven into the carpet, and chanted slogans. Other Democrats joined in from their seats.
Yvette Hinson, who represents parts of Alachua and Marion counties, stood next to the three.
Having passed the three bills, Sprowls adjourned the House, slamming down his gavel with a resounding whack. Shortly later, the lights in the chamber went out.
The result was a decisive win for DeSantis, who insisted that U.S. Supreme Court rulings disfavoring consideration of race in drawing political districts. If an ugly one. There was no immediate word from the governor’s office.
Sprowls issued a written statement.
“Today a group of representatives decided to hijack the legislative process, violating House Rules and interfering with the rights of their fellow elected colleagues to debate important legislation before the body,” he said.
“We saw a group of Florida House members with microphones at their desk, a statewide audience, and an opportunity to vote on behalf of their constituents, and they instead chose to pretend they had to stage a protest to be heard.
“House Democrats requested and agreed to 75 minutes of debate time on congressional maps, and they used the entire time. They did not request any additional time prior to the group’s disruption.
“After offering multiple opportunities to debate the bills in an orderly way, we carried on and completed our constitutional duty to pass a congressional map. Ultimately, this group tried to drown out the voices of the other elected representatives and the 22 million Floridians they represent.”
Before the protest broke out, Democrats compared the DeSantis plan to Jim Crow-era laws limiting Black voting rights. Republicans called it a reasonable response to constitutional questions about race’s role in drawing political boundaries.
The new map creates 20 districts likely to vote Republican and eight for Democrats. It splits Blacks in Duval along the St. Johns River into two GOP-leaning districts and eliminates a Black “opportunity” district in Orange County. In opportunity districts a minority group wields enough strength to heavily influence the outcome.
Congresswoman Val Demings represents that area now.
The map provides four Hispanic-leaning districts in South Florida.
Disney bills
The vote was 73-38 on legislation (HB 3-C), sunsetting any special district created before the adoption of the Florida Constitution of 1968 effective on June 1, 2023, unless the Legislature has reauthorized them since then.
That bill’s targets include the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which the Legislature approved in 1967 to give The Walt Disney Co. control over the 25,000 acres it owns in Central Florida. That bill cleared the Senate on Wednesday.
HB 5-C, repealing an exemption for Disney connected to last year’s law cracking down on social media over their alleged deplatforming of conservatives, passed on a 70-38 vote.
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