Tallahassee, FL – HB 1205, a bill to restrict citizen-led amendments, was approved by the Florida House of Representatives earlier today. The citizen-led amendment process is one of the most direct ways Floridians can shape the future we all deserve. It embodies the collective power of Floridians, uniting us across race, zip code, and income to address the issues that matter most to our communities. This is direct democracy at its best—a system where the will of the people drives progress and shapes a better future.

If this bill or its companion in the Senate, SPB 7016, becomes law it will give only ten days to turn in petitions, and create unnecessary and burdensome fines on volunteers, preventing everyday Floridians from being able pass policies that improve our lives and strengthen our communities when politicians refuse to act.

State Voices Florida opposes this legislation and urges the Senate to reject both HB 1205 and SPB 7016. The citizen-led amendment process in Florida is the strictest in the nation, requiring nearly one million signatures to get on the ballot and 60% support from voters to pass. The process should be made easier…not harder.

The program helps Black-owned businesses obtain borrow money when they can’t access traditional lending. 

As part of his budget proposal for fiscal year 2025-26, Gov. Ron DeSantisplans to eliminate funding for the Black Business Loan Program.

His budget, called “Focus on Fiscal Responsibility,” calls for the cancellation of $2.225 million for the program, which provides loans for “Black business enterprises that cannot obtain capital through conventional lending institutions but that could otherwise compete successfully in the private sector,” according to Florida State Statute. 

The program, last decade, had a record of controversy, including allegations of high rates of default, inadequate security for loans, and loans made improperly to ineligible people, including elected politicians and a convicted felon, according to reporting in the Florida Times Union of Jacksonville, theGainesville Sun and FloridaPolitics.com.

The budget cut falls under community development programs within Housing and Community Development. Overall, the department stands to be funded at $438 million under the Governor’s budget proposal, a little less than half its funding in the current budget year. 

A majority of Florida voters — including more than half of Republicans surveyed — told pollsters they support a proposed amendment that would add a right to abortion to the state Constitution. The poll from the University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab, released Thursday, found 62% of state voters said they would vote “yes” if the measure appears on the November 2024 ballot. UNF also said 67% of Florida voters are “yes” on a proposed state constitutional amendment that would allow adults in Florida to purchase and possess small amounts of marijuana for personal use. The poll results suggest the measures could pass. Referendums require a 60% “yes” vote to become part of the Florida Constitution.

Today is Giving Tuesday, a global generosity movement unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities, and that is what we hope to do, transform communities. State Voices Florida is a  statewide civic engagement organization committed to bringing together progressive Non Partisan organizations to work together in building power around civic issues.  If the progressive movement works together and speaks with one voice, great things will happen. We believe everyone should have the right to vote, and voting should be simple and easy. We also support reproductive rights, environmental justice, criminal justice reform, economic justice and affordable housing for everyone. Along with our partner organizations, we use data and technology, people-powered campaigns, and coalitions to collectively build a multiracial democracy that allows every Floridian to thrive and live in their full dignity. We are a member of the State Voices Affiliated Network, a network of state-based coalitions,

CRETE, Neb. — This is what the future of American democracy looked like for Sierra Edmisten one evening this fall: a block of modest, single-story homes; the lights from the Crete High School football stadium glowing in the mist; families gathering for dinner after a day in the meatpacking plants. Edmisten was collecting signatures for a cause associated with liberals in a red part of one of the country’s reddest states. The ballot initiative she was seeking to put before voters would, if passed, require Nebraska employers to guarantee their workers at least five days of paid sick leave each year.

In response to the recent controversy surrounding African American history standards in public schools, Senator Shevrin Jones, a Democrat from Miami Gardens, has introduced a proposal aimed at preventing the inclusion of any instruction suggesting that enslaved people benefited from slavery in any way.

Salandra Benton is Executive Director of the Florida Coalition on Black Civic Participation.