Florida Governor Ron DeSantis earned national media coverage on Monday when he proposed new anti-protest legislation that would, among other things, increase penalties for acts of civil disobedience by protesters—i.e. obstructing traffic—remove liability for drivers who hit protesters, and withhold state grants and aid to municipalities that cut their law enforcement budgets.
And while the proposal is political red meat for Trump supporters, it’s important to understand that it’s got a ways to go before it even hits the Florida legislature, and there are still a few ways it could be stopped.
This bill, titled the “Combating Violence, Disorder, and Looting Act,” garnered strong reactions online from Tampa Bay police reform protesters, the ACLU of Florida, and state politicians such as civil rights lawyer and Florida House Representative-elect, Michele Rayner, and progressive Orlando House Rep. Anna V. Eskamani—who’s rumored to be a potential gubernatorial candidate to run against DeSantis in 2022.
Both Rayner and Eskamani participated in a livestreamed #NoFloridaPoliceState meeting of statewide elected officials and community leaders Tuesday morning to speak against the egregious legislation.
Rayner, who ran a successful campaign in a crowded race for Florida’s 70th House District, took to social media within hours on Monday, calling the bill a “complete overreach and criminalization for people who are protesting” and said she plans to vote against it.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida has also come out in strong opposition with their own condemnation of the legislation. “Gov. DeSantis’ proposal is undemocratic and hostile to Americans’ shared values. This effort has one goal: silence, criminalize, and penalize Floridians who want to see justice for Black lives lost to racialized violence and brutality at the hands of law enforcement,” stated ACLU of Florida executive director Micah Kubic.
“The Constitution firmly protects protests even when – and especially when – they challenge government policy, and express dissatisfaction with the status quo.”
On Monday, as initial uproar erupted online and created a virtual atmosphere of panic, some critical details about the DeSantis’ announcement—namely, whether the bill has yet been signed into law, and when it will in fact be voted on—entered murky territory.
First of all, Governor DeSantis’ proposed legislation has, at this point, merely been introduced for the Florida House and Senate to vote on. It has not been signed into law under executive order.
In fact, this bill will not be voted on until at least March 2021, when the next legislative session begins. That is, unless DeSantis is successful in scheduling a special session for the legislature to vote on this in November—as expressed by the governor on Tuesday—in order to fast-track its likely passage in Florida’s House and Senate—which are both majority Republican.
In the absence of a special session, Florida residents would have months yet to contact their congressional members to demand that they vote against the undemocratic legislation.
Not only that, but Florida voters also have a critical opportunity this year to flip Florida’s Senate—with several Republican seats up for election in November. With a 21-19 Republican to Democrat balance in the Senate, Florida Democrats would only need to pick up three seats to flip.
Locally, this includes Florida’s 20th Senate District, a seat soon to be vacated by Republican Senator Tom Lee, who announced his premature resignation earlier this year. With two years left in his term, this decision prompted a Special Election for the multicounty seat.
The two opponents running for Florida’s 20th Senate District—which spans parts of Hillsborough, Pasco, and Polk Counties—are Republican Danny Burgess and Democrat Kathy Lewis.
Lewis—a Black disability rights advocate, author, motivational speaker, and community leader—is running on a platform of expanding Medicaid, fighting for a $18 living wage for Florida’s minimum wage workers and a Universal Basic Income (UBI) for those at or below the poverty line, reforming Florida’s emergency response procedures, increasing teacher pay, and protecting Florida’s environment.
Lewis ran against Sen. Tom Lee in 2018, and despite her loss, still managed to get 46.5% of the vote in a traditionally Republican district, exceeding expectations.
Burgess, who recently left his position as Executive Director of Florida’s Department of Veteran Affairs to run for the seat, has a long political history and has raised over $280,000 in donations to Lewis’ $49,673. Burgess is also a big fan of DeSantis, who originally tapped him to become the Florida VA’s head in 2018.
At least two other GOP-held seats up for election this year in the Miami-Dade and Orlando areas are also being eyed as viable seats to flip. Although the question of whether the state Democratic Party actually wants to achieve a majority in the Florida Senate has, bizarrely, been raised, with candidates like Lewis struggling to get their support.
On a county-level, the local Democratic party has, for its part, moved to support and donate to Lewis’ campaign, with contributions from leadership within the Hillsborough County Democratic Executive Committee and the East Pasco Democratic Club. Lewis has also secured endorsements from the local Democratic Progressive Caucus, Hillsborough County Democratic Black Caucus, as well as Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried among many local elected officials.
It’s also worth noting that achieving a Democratic majority in the Senate does not necessarily secure enough votes against DeSantis’ proposed anti-protest legislation. It’s perfectly reasonable to assume there could be Democrats who would vote with Republicans to pass the bill—in the absence of enough prodding from constituents in opposition.
But without a Democratic majority in Florida’s Senate, it seems pretty likely the legislation will indeed pass.
“This is 100% a distraction because Republicans know they are losing in November and are trying to change the narrative,” Rep. Eskamani (FL-47) tweeted, in response to DeSantis’ desire to fast-track a vote through a November special session. “DON’T LET THEM DO IT!!!”
Indeed, the decision by DeSantis to try and fast-track this bill, while neglecting the state’s inadequate unemployment system, has been met by many online with disdain and derision.
After all, the economic repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic doesn’t discriminate by party affiliation. Across the state, more than 3.6 million unemployment claims have been filed since mid-March, and as of May, about 25% of the state’s nonelderly adults were uninsured.
And yet, DeSantis hasn’t felt it necessary to fast-track a special session for the legislation to convene on addressing record-high unemployment or emergency pandemic response measures—as astutely observed by Tampa Bay Times political reporter Steve Contorno on Twitter.
Notably, the introduction of this legislation came on the same day that the U.S. Department of Justice designated New York City, Portland, and Seattle as “anarchist jurisdictions”—following months of heated Black Lives Matter and police reform protests in these areas.
And despite DeSantis’ reported concern about protest violence and looting, a joint project from the U.S. Crisis Monitor reported earlier this month that over 93% of racial justice protests since May have been peaceful—or at the very least, nonviolent.
In any case, the presence of law enforcement often seems to be a deciding factor in whether protests escalate to violence. Other parts of the legislation—such as withholding bail for protestors until their first court appearance, and attaching RICO liability to protest organizers—are also deeply disturbing.
RICO stands for the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, an early-’70s federal law that "provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization." The law focuses on prosecuting leaders of organizations where other members carry out the dirty deeds. For example, if a gang member commits a murder ordered by a higher-up, the RICO focuses on making sure both people go to trial, even if the higher-up didn't personally commit the murder. Why DeSantis thinks we need to use this logic against assembly granted by the constitution is beyond us.
But we still have an opportunity to fight it. Regardless of which side of the aisle you’re on politically, this bill is borderline unconstitutional, and although blatantly targeted at racial justice protesters, it could very well be applicable to a variety of contexts that involve challenging the status-quo through “disorderly assembly”.
In the wake of the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg and this latest anti-protest attack from the Florida government, calls to vote for Democrats down the ballot in local races have emerged with increased urgency.
While electoral politics is only a single arm of the state’s people power, ensuring people maintain the right to build organizational power through nonviolent protest is quite literally now at stake here in Florida.
If you’re not here for it—call, email, or write to your Florida House and Senate representatives to demand they vote against this latest example of anti-protest vehemence. And if you’re eligible to vote for Florida Democrats who are or might be willing to ensure the bill gets trashed, get your pen ready for November’s ballot. Assuming you vibe with Creative Loafing’s staunchly liberal politics, that is.
The deadline to register to vote (or change your party) in Florida is Oct. 5. Election Day is Nov. 3. Early voting dates vary by county. Check your county’s Supervisor of Election Office website for more information on voting for the 2020 General Election.
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This article appears in Sep 24-30, 2020.