In a week that saw President Donald Trump’s administration vacillating between “yes” or “no” on support of a proposed federal religious freedom law (via executive order) that would permit discrimination based upon the religious affiliations of businesses, things could be taking an uptick at the Florida level. Though Trump’s executive order does in fact exist, stating a cornucopia of potential rights roll-backs that could bring adverse effects to everything from marriage to adoption, Trump has since promised to uphold President Obama’s executive order that forbids federal agencies from discriminating against LGBTQ citizens. The rest, by most reports, remains in flux.
However, Florida’s Competitive Workforce Act, which died last year in the Florida Senate, is back this year with bipartisan support in advance of the March legislative session in Tallahassee.
“Given the fact that there’s broad public support,” Rep Ben Diamond, D-St. Petersburg, told WFSU, “that the business community is pushing for this, and we have many new members in the Legislature who are looking for ideas that will help our economy, I’m very hopeful that we’re going to get the comprehensive bill passed.”
The joint bills, HB 623 and SB 666, were filed on Feb. 2 with Diamond, state Rep. Rene Placencia, R-Orlando, and state Sen. Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth, seeks to advance tolerance by way of the pocket book in a state that has consistently been unfriendly to the LGBTQ community. Florida fought a tough battle against marriage equality before a federal ruling forced the issue in January 2015.
“Public lodging establishments and public food service establishments are private enterprises, and the operator has the right to refuse accommodations or service to any person who is objectionable or undesirable to the operator, but such refusal may not be based upon race, creed, color, sex, pregnancy, physical disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin,” the bill states, adding sexual orientation and gender identity to existing Florida Statute 509.092. It also builds on the existing Florida Civil Rights of 1992, adding the same clauses. As per existing statutes, victims of discrimination are entitled by law to take offending organizations to court as a remedy.
The bill is also very clear in its language regarding religious freedom. “This section does not limit the free exercise of religion guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the State Constitution,” it reads.
Equality Florida issued a press release on Feb. 3 voicing its support for the bipartisan move, citing the fact that, though 56 percent of Florida’s population is already protected by local nondiscrimination protections passed at municipal levels over the past 20 years.
“This bill speaks to the core values we share as Floridians. Everyone should be treated as equals under the law. Discrimination has no place in our state,” said Hannah Willard, public policy director for Equality Florida, in a statement. “Now is the time for our legislature to affirm that residents and visitors to Florida can expect to be protected no matter what part of our state they choose to live, work or visit.”
Though the bill has a long history of failure dating back to 2009, the changing tides are working in its favor, its sponsors agree.
“Florida needs to make sure it stays competitive in a global marketplace,” Sen. Clemens told website SaintPetersBlog.“Recruiting the best-trained, most innovative workforce means eliminating discrimination in the workplace, housing and public accommodations. This makes good business sense, but more importantly, it’s the right thing to do. We need to signal that Florida is the best place in the world for workers and businesses.”
