Broward is one step closer to executing a state-mandated purge of diversity programs in local government.
The Broward County Commission voted 6-2 to approve a public hearing on two ordinances related to a state crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion in local government Tuesday.
If approved, one ordinance would repeal the county code authorizing the Racial Equity Task Force as well as the Commission on the Status of Women.
The other would make changes to the Tourist Development Council, Climate Change Task Force and Homeless Continuum of Care Board, such as the removal of a slot for a representative of the LGBTQ+ community from the latter.
The changes come after a sweeping state law signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in April banned municipalities and counties from spending money on programs or offices related to DEI. It defines the term as giving preferential treatments based on characteristics like gender, race and sexual orientation. The ban takes effect Jan. 1, 2027.
Broward arts groups have already raised alarms as they eye thousands of dollars in losses to county cultural grant funding. Now, the commission is turning inward to remove references to specific communities from its administrative code.
READ MORE: Broward arts groups ‘rethinking our entire existence’ as state DEI funding ban looms
“We, this community, have been a leader in this state on human rights, on civil rights, on all kinds of things,” said Commissioner Beam Furr at Tuesday’s commission meeting. “And now we’re being asked to backpeddle, and I don’t want to backpeddle.”
Furr, who leaves office in November, joined Commissioner Nan Rich in voting against both ordinances. Other members of the commission said they didn’t want to approve the changes but felt their hands were tied under state law.
The approved resolutions direct the county administrator to post notices of public hearing on Oct. 20 for the two proposed ordinances.
The first sunsets the Racial Equity Task Force and Commission on the Status of Women.
The Racial Equity Task force was established in 2020 to tackle systemic racism in Broward County. The 37-member volunteer group contained members nominated by groups like the NAACP and the Broward Sheriff’s Office.
Members met monthly, sometimes as a group and sometimes in subcommittees devoted to areas including healthcare and education. They held town halls and made recommendations to the commission based on conversations with community members.
The Commission on the Status of Women, meanwhile, dates back to 1976. Its tasks included spearheading a biannual report in partnership with Florida International University examining data on education, economic and health factors affecting Broward residents.
Its landing page on the Broward County website no longer exists.
Commissioner Rich said she’s worked closely with the commission as it’s taken the lead on gender equity research and celebrations like Women’s History Month. She said she couldn’t vote to dismantle it just because the state targeted it in what she described as a “war on woke.”
“Women make up more than 50% of the population … in this county, and yet we're still engaged in this ongoing struggle of equal rights, equal pay, equal respect, and equal justice,” Rich said. “And that is why I have to vote my conscience, and I will be voting 'no' on this item.”
The commission’s latest report found full-time female workers in Broward County earned 86 cents for every dollar earned by men in 2023.
Changing who can participate
The second proposed ordinance targets the Tourist Development Council, Climate Change Task Force and Homeless Continuum of Care Board. Though it doesn’t seek to eliminate the entities, it does change language in the county’s administrative code specifying who should participate.
For example, the tourist council’s 25-person Marketing Advisory Committee is currently required to include at least one African-American member and one from the Superior Small Lodging organization. Neither of those specifications appear in the amended code.
Similarly, the Climate Change Task Force, which also contains 25 members, would no longer require one member representing the Urban League of Broward County. And the Homeless Continuum of Care Board would change its call for a representative from the LGBTQ+ community to one that provides services to hate crime victims.
Commissioner Steve Geller said the county attorney might tell him to be removed if he voted against the measure. Though he sympathized with Furr and Rich, he said he felt a responsibility to vote in accordance with state law.
“I think that everybody here knows that if it was up to the nine people here, that this would fail unanimously,” Geller said. “But as both a lawyer and as a longtime elected official, every one of us has raised our hand and swore to follow the Constitution.”
Both ordinances will have public hearings, where residents can appear to be heard, during the next regular commission meeting Oct. 20.
