School Prayer clears final Senate hurdle

As expected, SB 98 – Sen. Gary Siplin’s (D-Orlando) bill authorizing school boards to adopt policies allowing for student-led prayer at non-compulsory school events passed its final stop in the Senate Rules committee with 12 “yes” votes and 2 “no” votes. The bill has been placed on the Senate’s special order calendar for Tuesday, January 31, when all 40 senators will debate it on the Senate floor. The House version of the bill, by Rep. Van Zant (R-Palatka), has not been heard in its first committee.

Prison Privatization efforts heat up

This week saw the introduction of two bills that would require the Department of Corrections to privatize the management and operation of certain correctional facilities throughout the state. The Senate Rules Committee, under pressure from public employees and interest groups such as the AFL-CIO and AFSCME, added one additional committee reference so that the bills could be debated once more before heading to the Senate floor. SB 2036 and SB 2038 were heard in the Senate’s budget committee toward the end of the week, but due to overwhelming public testimony, only SB 2038 was voted on. It heads to the Senate floor next week.

Anti-choice wave marks third week in the House

Three of eight abortion bills introduced thus far this session were heard in the House’s Health and Human Services Access committee chaired by Rep. Dennis Baxley (R-Ocala). HB 277 by Rep. Rachel Burgin (R-Riverview) would require all abortion clinics to be wholly owned and operated by a physician or group of physicians and mandate that a woman visit a clinic and be given information by a physician at least 24 hours before an abortion can be performed. HB 839 by Rep. Daniel Davis (R-Jacksonville)  would prohibit abortions beginning at 20 weeks post-fertilization. HB 1327 by Rep. Scott Plakon (RLongwood) would require a signed affidavit stating that an abortion is not being performed because of the child’s race or sex. (There is, of course, no evidence that race or gender selection is occurring. The bill is simply an attempt to use race as a wedge to criminalize abortion, and it is related to the despicable billboards across the country that equate abortion to racial genocide.) These three bills all passed the committee with a vote down party lines. The ACLU and Planned Parenthood led efforts to provide expert and personal testimony from the public before each vote was taken. HB 277 has one more committee stop while HB 1327 and HB 839 have two more. None of the Senate companions of these bills has been heard in committee.

Media Roundup:

What to look out for next week:

Prison privatization will certainly continue to move forward quickly as the Senate debates SB 2038 on the floor. The House is slated to debate final state House and Congressional redistricting maps on the floor and vote on final passage. And look out for more anti-choice efforts in the House as subcommittees meet for the final time next week and committees meet only twice more as the session begins to wind down. Stay tuned for ways you can help defend freedom and liberty in Tallahassee anywhere you are.

Action Items:

If you haven’t already, contact your State Senator and urge him / her to VOTE NO on SB 98. Protect the religious freedom rights of Florida’s public school students. Find your Senator’s contact information by clicking here: http://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/
Contact your State Representative to oppose further restrictions on access to abortion. Find your Representatives contact information by clicking here: http://www.flhouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/representatives.aspx
To read more about the bills, please visit http://www.leg.state.fl.us

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