Members of the Florida Legislative Black Caucus (FLBC) came away from a one-hour meeting with Governor Rick Scott on Tuesday, a bit more upbeat than they did last year, when they felt insulted and disrespected. Although time did not permit in depth discussion on the wide-ranging agenda, lawmakers discussed several issues including, restoration of civil rights, the Florida Parole Commission, judicial and gubernatorial appointments, closing the gap on health disparities and the State’s Small Business Credit Initiative.
Representative Perry Thurston (D-Plantation) put on the table the five-year wait period nonviolent felons must go through before having their rights restored, a policy that Scott and his cabinet put in place earlier this year and one of the harshest in the country. “Why should more than 100,000 people who have done everthing wait five years to have their civil rights restored?” Thurston asked.
Scott said that he was willing to take another look at the policy, but requested more information on what is done in other states.
“I’m not stuck with one way of doing things,” Scott said, reports the News Service of Florida. “If there’s better of doing it, I’ll look at it.”
Lawmakers committed to getting the requested information to Scott, but expressed skepticism that he did not have what was required to reverse the policy.
Representative Darryl Rouson (D-St. Petersburg) raised the issue of judiciary and gubernatorial appointments and the lack of minorities to judicial nominating commissions, noting that the Judiciary should reflect as best as possible the community it represents.
Scott said he was open to more diversity, but he wasn’t interested in appointing activist judges to the bench and persons who did not share his view on the role of the courts.
“We are certain that there are many African American lawyers who meet these qualities who desire and deserve to serve,” Rouson said after the meeting. “They may not always think like the governor but they respect the rule of law.”
Representative Geraldine Thompson (D-Orlando) expressed concern over the lack of financial and technical support for enterprises that are owned by women, disabled veterans, blacks and minorites, even as Scott recruited businesses to locate to Florida. She said that minority businesses represented uptapped potential to create jobs and spur economic development.
“With technical assistance and financial support, these businesses can enhance their operations and expand jobs in Florida, ” she said. “The state needs to assess how well we are doing with these businesses because of the great potential for job creation in an underutilized market. We can’t improve what we don’t measure.”
Given that tourism is one of the largest industries in Florida, Thompson also urged Scott to support the creation of a commission to spur travel to the State’s African-American Cultural and historical sites.
Increasing health care disparities between whites and African-Americans was also discussed. Lawmakers proposed the establishment of an Office of Minority Health within the State’s Department of Health, to help close the gap on health disparities.
Scott appeared to respond favorably to the proposal, asking the group for additional information and committing to taking up the issue in a follow-up meeting.
Concerning education, Representative Dwight Bullard (D-Miami) identified several priorities, including restoration and increased funding for K-20 public institutions, making available PECO dollars accessible to public institutions, maintaining postsecondary tenure and developing proviso language to ensure struggling and formerly struggling schools to improve without fear of closure, and maintaining compliance with the state constitution in regards to maintaining a high-quality public education.
Senator Arthenia L. Joyner (D-Tampa) summed up the meeting this way:
“We view this as an effort to maximize the opportunities for minorities in our state, and as caucus vice-chair and Senate Democratic leader pro tempore, I am willing to work closely with the governor to assure minorities receive a reasonable share of the states appropriations.”
