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A proposal that would prevent local governments from setting policies related to “diversity, equity and inclusion” was approved Monday by a Senate committee. The Republican-controlled Community Affairs Committee voted 5-3 to back the measure (SB 420), sponsored by Sen. Clay Yarborough, R-Jacksonville. The bill also would allow people to take legal action if the prohibition is violated. “We need to focus on core essential services, maintain the roads, parks, public safety, economic development and the like,” Yarborough said. “But we should always place a higher emphasis on those very important efforts … and not make it limited in the other categories that are outside individual qualifications, skills and performance.” One of several DEI-related bills going before lawmakers this week, the measure, for example, would affect such things as employment policies. Sen. Shevrin Jones, D-Miami Gardens, called the proposal “authoritarianism” and said it wouldn’t improve the lives of Floridians. Yarborough’s bill would need to clear two more committees before it could go to the Senate floor. Rep. Dean Black, R-Jacksonville, has filed a House version (HB 1571), which has not been heard in committees.
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