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Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin

(107,063 posts)
Mon Jul 22, 2019, 08:50 PM Jul 2019

Goal of Republicans in Tallahassee: Make the people of Florida voiceless and powerless

There was a time in living memory when all three branches of Florida government acknowledged their duty to serve everyone who lives here rather than only those with enough influence to have politicians in their pockets.

That consensus was reflected in a new constitution that let the people propose and enact their own amendments. New laws gave the public a voice in managing growth and protecting the environment. A reformed, depoliticized Supreme Court upheld the right of citizens to speak their minds on public issues. Democrats and Republicans cooperated in most of that.

But today, the Republicans who hold absolute power in Tallahassee have a radically different concept of who they serve, and their “conservative” agenda goes far beyond simply keeping taxes low. As if by design, they are swiftly making the people voiceless and powerless against what a journalist of the pre-reform 1960s called the “true constituents” of the Legislature.

Two recent examples are especially alarming.

– Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation that environmentalists fear is a “mortal blow” to growth management. Among other bad things, HB 7103 requires citizens to pay the other side’s legal fees if they try and fail to overturn a permit as inconsistent with a community’s comprehensive plan. The new law also tells courts to fast-track the cases.

“Other than the consistency challenge, no means exists to enforce local government comprehensive plans,” said the environmental group 1000 Friends of Florida in a five-page letter urging DeSantis to veto the bill.

Although the loser-pays provision works both ways, it’s usually only the side with the permit that can afford to take the risk.

-more-

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/editorials/fl-op-edit-republican-tallahassee-voiceless-powerless-20190719-vtzo2ycgw5dspd2nub5sxzibye-story.html

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Goal of Republicans in Tallahassee: Make the people of Florida voiceless and powerless (Original Post) Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Jul 2019 OP
one wonders how many FL dems sat at home instead of voting last year nt msongs Jul 2019 #1
"how many FL dems sat at home instead of voting" mitch96 Jul 2019 #2

mitch96

(13,816 posts)
2. "how many FL dems sat at home instead of voting"
Mon Jul 22, 2019, 09:14 PM
Jul 2019

As the saying goes, they got the government they deserve.. I would hope they loose the right to bitch about said government also... Then again that's just me... YMMV..
m

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