



The Immigration Bills that passed the Florida House and Senate are terrible!

Mandatory Death Penalty?
Rotten!
This $504.7 million is for Florida Law Enforcement and to establish a new state immigration agency!
Governor DeSantis has said he will veto their bills (only because it rips power away from him!); however, the Senate and House have the 2/3rd vote needed to overturn DeSantis's veto!
Call Senator Leek at (850) 487-5007
Call Representative Kendall at (850) 717-5018 for District 18
Call Representative Greco at (850) 717-5019 for District 19.
Tell them you reject their draconian Immigration Bill!























Use this link to send to De Santis a form letter to voice opposition to this measure. It is a simple way to help out this important cause.
Governor De Santis is attempting to ban the optional AP Black History class for high school students in the state of Florida. National news recently covered the protest rally held at the State Capitol. You can find find a recording of the live event on the "Equal Ground" Facebook page.


HB 1 - SCHOOL CHOICE
We now have first controversial legislation in the new 2023 FL State Legislature. It's the Republican-sponsored HB 1- School Choice. This bill is the expanded school voucher program that has been promised for years by Florida's anti-public school forces. It will essentially decimate funding for public education, the great equalizer in our society, and it is scheduled for its first House committee hearing next week!

Your voices are needed NOW to let them know that you disagree with this bill. DO NOT give them a free pass. They need to be held accountable.
Please refer to Rachel's email (sent to you on Jan 21st at 1:22PM) for the list of legislators that need to be contacted and talking points.

SIGNED


This Special School Board Meeting will be held in the auditorium of the SJCSD Administration Building at 40 Orange Street, St Augustine, FL 32084.



Several weeks ago, DeSantis ordered the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) to develop a rule that denies Medicaid coverage for lifesaving, gender-affirming care to transgender Floridians. Now it will be heard by the FL Board of Medicine on Friday, Aug. 5.
This denied care would include -
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A ban on puberty blockers, hormones, and surgery under age 18 for gender dysphoria,
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It would require informed consent forms and at least a 24 hour waiting period for adults seeking those treatments, and
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It would vaguely permit some form of "appropriate care" for individuals currently receiving such care, without confirming their current care would continue to be available.
This proposed rule not only includes interfering with healthcare decisions made by parents for their own children, it also interferes with the ability of adults to make their own healthcare decisions! 24-hour waiting period? Sound familiar? Right! When Florida was ripping away reproductive freedoms for women!
This is outrageous! We need you to send a message to the FL Board of Medicine before their meeting on Aug. 5 and let them know to reject efforts to end gender-affirming care for transgender youth and adults. Equality Florida, the largest civil rights organization dedicated to securing full equality for Florida's LGBTQ community, has created a form that you can easily send by clicking on this link: Tell the FL Board of Medicine to Reject Efforts to End Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Youth (eqfl.org).


The first vote-by-mail ballots go in the mail on July 9th.
URGENT! Please contact your Senator
and Representatives in the Florida
Legislature BEFORE 3PM FRIDAY
(June 10, 2022) and ask them to vote
"yes" on the Democratic request for a
Special Session devoted to reducing
gun violence. The legislative goal of the
Special Session would be simple and
common sense:
• Regulate high-capacity rifle magazines
to limit the killing capacity of the most
favored weapons used in mass shooting
events,
• Mandate universal background checks on all firearms sales to keep guns out of the hands of those who should not have them, and
• Expand Florida's successful Red Flag law, passed with bipartisan support after the MSD shooting.
Unfortunately, not one Republican has agreed to the request, and three-fifths of each chamber must vote “yes” by Friday at 3 pm ET to schedule the session.
It is up to us to let our legislators know that we want laws to reduce gun violence. Tell them to VOTE YES by 3 pm Friday on the Special Session request.

FAILED

Because of the seismic shift in the United States Supreme Court, Roe v. Wade is poised to be struck down. If this happens, nearly 50 years of American women's right to choose will no longer be the law of the land. The only way women in America can enjoy this right is through Congress codifying it through legislation. We encourage the 73% of Americans who believe this right should be protected to contact your members of Congress directly ASAP. We can’t sit back and allow the minority to continue to rule.
REVERSED

SB 1796 Dissolution of Marriage, aka the "Alimony Bill," has been sent to Gov. DeSantis. This legislation would have devastating effects on many divorced women and children in Florida. He has 15 days to either sign it into law, veto it, or do nothing which allows it to become law without his signature at the end of that time. This same bill was vetoed twice by Gov. Scott and we urge you now to contact Gov. DeSantis to also VETO the bill. His phone number is (850) 717-9337 and you can email him at GovernorRon.Desantis@eog.myflorida.com.
Talking Points
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There is no problem with current law. It already stipulates the court may award alimony only after initially determining that one spouse needs alimony, and the other spouse is able to pay alimony. As such, alimony may not be awarded when the requesting spouse has no actual need for support or when the other spouse has no ability to pay.
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This bill aims to eliminate the court’s determination and reduce further the amount and length of time that financial support can be received. Where does that leave the 63-year-old homemaker spouse divorced after 20 years or more of marriage when the alimony ends?
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The bill would be retroactive which would modify or eliminate any alimony judgment entered by a court before the statute takes effect. This is expected to re-open tens of thousands of past settled divorce cases and throw the lives of primarily women and children into chaos.
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The bill would eliminate any consideration of adultery, even where there has been depletion of assets in financing the "fling."
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The bill would mandate 50/50 custody of minor children which flies in the face of judicial standards to do what is best for the child. It is assumed this point will be used by the wealthier spouse as a bargaining chip to reduce child support payments.
VETOED!
