Hi Friends,
Two things you should know before we get into Florida’s Legislative Session:
As of Wednesday February 4, Haitians with Temporary Protected Status will become vulnerable to a cruel deportation agenda. After years of contributing to our communities in countless ways, the Trump administration is stripping their protections. Here’s what we can do:
We have a real window of opportunity to defund and delegitimize ICE. Learn more about why, call your reps everyday until February 13 to tell them no more funds for ICE, and continue to withhold your spending power from corporations profiting from murder. In the words of Benito, “ICE OUT.”
Theme of the Week: Union Busting and ‘Domestic Terrorism’
Florida lawmakers are advancing a familiar playbook: shrink workers’ power, shut down dissent, and quietly erase public accountability, all while insisting none of it is connected. But it is.
From union-busting proposals to bills redefining protest and expanding secrecy, these efforts work together to reshape who gets a voice in Florida and who gets silenced. When workers lose bargaining power, when wages are suppressed, and when public records disappear, it becomes much easier to label resistance as “extreme” or even “dangerous.”
On Our Radar
What Moved
❌HJR 213 “Modification of Limitations on Property Assessment Increases” aka Defund Hospitals and Essential Services by Rep. Griffitts was voted favorably out of the Ways & Means Committee. However, the League of Cities brought in hundreds of local government officials, all who opposed the attacks on local governments disguised as property tax reform. With nearly three decades of Republicans controlling Florida’s lawmaking, the property tax proposals (which would destabilize local government finances) seem like a desperate attempt to blame anyone else for the affordability crisis affecting working families.
❌SB 86/ HB 1247 “Commercial Motor Vehicles Operated by Unauthorized Aliens” aka Let ICE Detain Truck Drivers by Sen. Gaetz and Rep. Shoaf – SB 86 was voted favorably out of the Transportation Committee, BUT, a committee substitute was filed. The bill now explicitly declares that operation of commercial vehicles by “unauthorized aliens” is an emerging threat and an imminent safety hazard. This mirrors the same framing used in other bills that expand “domestic security” powers. This justifies expedited enforcement, fewer procedural safeguards, and harsher penalties.
What’s Coming Up
Monday 2/2
Govt. Oversight and Accountability, 110S, 3:30 – 5:30 PM **UPDATE: POSTPONED**
❌SB 1296 “Public Employees Relations Commission” aka Another Attack on Unions by Sen. Martin
❌SB 1298 “Public Records/Public Employees Relations Commission” aka Another Attack on Unions Behind Closed Doors by Sen. Martin
Tuesday 2/3
State Affairs Committee , 17 H 8:00 – 10:00 AM
❌HB 0535 “Candidate Qualifying” aka Show Your Patriotism Papers Please by Rep. Benarroch
❌SB 122 / HB 103 “Local Business Taxes” aka Bankrupt Local Governments by Sen. Truenow and Rep. Botana
(S) Judiciary, 110 S 1:00-3:00 PM
❌SB 1632 “Ideologies Inconsistent with American Principles” aka Police State Bills (Outlawing Activism) by Sen. Grall
❌SB 1634 “Public Records and Meetings/Chief of Domestic Security” aka Police State Bills (Outlawing Activism) by Sen. Grall
Take action: Stop Florida’s Police State Bills (from our friends at CAIR FL)
Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee, 404 H 2:30 – 6:00 PM
❌HB 1551 “Products Liability for Firearms” aka Protect Corporations Selling Defective Firearms by Rep. Duggan
(S) Community Affairs, 37 S, 3:30-5:30 PM
❌SB 1134 “Official Actions of Local Governments” aka Anti-Diversity in Local Government by Sen. Yarborough
Take action: Tell lawmakers to vote NO on SB 1134 (from our friends at Equality Florida)
Wednesday 2/4
(S) Commerce and Tourism, 110 S, 10:30AM-12:30PM
❌SB 1236 “Employers Receiving Economic Development Incentives from State Agencies” aka Incentivize Union Busting by Massullo, Jr.
On a Positive Note!
✅ A pro-transparency voting rights bill is moving through the Senate! SB 748 “Notice of Restoration of Voting Rights Information on Sentencing Scoresheets” by Sen. Bracy Davis would make it so that when someone is sentenced for a felony in Florida, the paperwork the judge uses has to clearly tell them whether they lose their right to vote, and what they have to do to get it back.
As it stands today, many people leave court confused about their voting rights, and that uncertainty discourages participation at the polls.
This bill addresses that by requiring clear notice at sentencing about how a felony conviction affects voting rights and when those rights may be restored. It passed the Criminal Justice Committee last week and is on the agenda again this week in the Ethics and Elections Committee (02/04/26, 10:30 a.m., 37 S).
In The Weeds
There’s a dangerous through-line emerging in this session that goes beyond any single bill: as lawmakers intensify attacks on unions and collective worker power, they are simultaneously moving to narrow who can see the decision-making process.
Public records and public meetings exemptions are no longer isolated or technical clean-up bills. They are being layered directly onto labor policy and so-called “domestic security” frameworks.
Take SB 1296 aka Another Attack on Unions by Sen. Martin. On its face, it restructures how labor disputes involving public employees are handled and updates the certification and recertification processes of employee organizations, including how petitions and voting occur. In practice, it further centralizes power over collective bargaining and enforcement in a way that weakens worker leverage, especially for public-sector unions already operating under tight constraints. This is paired with SB 1298 aka Another Attack on Unions Behind Closed Doors which limits access to records tied to Public Employees Relations Commission (PERC) proceedings, investigations, and internal communications. When disputes over organizing, retaliation, or decertification happen behind closed doors, workers lose one of their few tools to prove misconduct or political interference.
Then there are SB 1632 and SB 1634, the Police State Bills (Outlawing Activism). The first bill expands the state’s authority to label certain beliefs or actions as incompatible with vaguely defined “American principles.” While framed as a values bill, its breadth creates a chilling effect for protest movements, labor actions, and collective resistance — especially when dissent can be reframed as ideological extremism.
The second bill, SB 1634 closes the loop. By creating sweeping public records and meeting exemptions tied to a new domestic security apparatus, the bill shields how the state evaluates, tracks, and responds to perceived threats. If labor actions, strikes, or mass protests are ever categorized as security concerns, the public may never see the communications or rationale behind those decisions and any of us are at risk of being labeled as domestic terrorists. Um.. what the fu*k?
That combination should alarm anyone paying attention (we should all be paying attention).
When lawmakers argue these exemptions are about efficiency or safety, it’s worth asking a harder question: who benefits when the public can no longer see how labor disputes are handled or how dissent is categorized?
Puppet Of the Week
The prestigious Puppet of the Week award must go to Rep. Ryan Chamberlin for his flailing attempt at a comeback with HB 221 aka Minimum Wage Loophole that would let companies withhold pay from workers.
This bill is free labor for corporations.
Rep. Chamberlin tried this last year, but it was so bad even his own party said no.
Notable quotes:
“This is the biggest amount of gaslighting I have witnessed in a long time. This isn’t about creating opportunities. This is about pushing people into poverty and getting corrupt corporations and greedy billionaires richer — period.” –Representative Angie Nixon
“To tell you the truth, I think if somebody works, whether they’re being an apprentice or whatever, minimum wage is actually in the Constitution for a reason.” – Senate President Ben Albritton
Usually bills like this can be tracked back to right-wing think tanks like the Foundation Government Accountability, notorious for pushing anti-worker legislation nationwide. But record requests have come up empty, and this Minimum Wage Loophole is so dumb, we think Rep. Chamberlin really did make this s*** up himself.
Better luck next year though!
Advocacy Days & Events!
Monday 2/2: Florida Muslim Capitol Day
Tuesday 2/3 & Wednesday 2/4: Equal Ground
Wednesday 2/4: Equal Ground Rally (Outside City Hall)
Onwards and upwards,
Your Friends at Florida For All