TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida lawmakers are moving forward with legislation, supported by Gov. Ron DeSantis, that would prohibit local governments from supporting any “diversity, equity, and inclusion” activities.

But local governments and residents across the state worry that the bill could stop innocuous government activities, including food, music and other cultural festivals.

Sen. Clay Yarborough, a Jacksonville Republican sponsoring the Senate legislation, told lawmakers that he thought diversity, equity and inclusion were positive concepts.

But he said the “manipulation of those terms,” commonly referred to as DEI, was being used to “cloak expenditures and practices” that weren’t an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars.

“In no way are we trying to remove the age-old concepts and terms and understanding of diversity, equity and inclusion,” Yarborough said this week. “It’s this DEI effort.”

The bill would prohibit local governments from hiring employees or giving any special benefits based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation.

It would define diversity, equity and inclusion as any attempt to promote or adopt “training, programming, or activities” designed or with reference to race, color, sex, ethnicity, gender identity or sexual orientation.

That’s part of where local governments take issue.

In Miami Beach, elected officials signed a letter to DeSantis, Senate President Ben Albritton and House Speaker Daniel Perez, saying the proposed legislation “would severely restrict the ability of cities and counties to respond to the needs of our shared constituents.”

The bill is “overly broad,” the city officials wrote, and “could be construed as prohibiting the most basic and routine actions of local governments.”

Miami Beach officials cited a laundry list of programs and events that could potentially be targeted for running afoul of the state’s legislation, such as a Jewish film festival, professional mentorship for women, commemorative programming for Cuban exile history and Spanish or Creole translations of city publications.

The letter also noted that local governments could face losing large-scale events and conferences that help draw in “millions of tourists and billions of dollars in revenues” to Florida each year.

And Miami-Dade Commissioner Vicki Lopez, a former Republican state lawmaker, said the bill would hamper the county from issuing grants to local nonprofits representing Hispanic businesses or staffing county boards focused on different parts of the community, including the Black Affairs Advisory Board.

“That would mean things like the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce,” Lopez said.

State lawmakers in one committee asked about how the bill could impact pride parades and the safety of participants.

The bill does carve out certain activities that would still be appropriate for local government, including celebrating federal and state holidays and special observances, like Martin Luther King Jr. Day; providing fire and safety services for permitted events, like pride festivals; and allowing targeted public health services based on race, gender and ethnicity.

Because LGBTQ+ pride is not a federal or state special holiday, pride festivals and other celebrations not carved out explicitly in the bill wouldn’t be able to get public money.

But Yarborough said that “doesn’t mean the event can’t take place.”

If local lawmakers violated the bill, they could face removal from office. Local governments in violation could face lawsuits from any county or city residents who would choose to sue.

“What’s going to end up happening is cities are going to not touch this with a 10-foot pole,” said Sen. Shevrin Jones, D-Miami Gardens. “And then none of these events or nothing will happen. Now you have an upset community that doesn’t feel represented.”

The legislation, if passed, could prohibit any local government from having a DEI office or dedicated diversity, equity and inclusion officer.

St. Petersburg has had a chief equity officer since 2023. Last year, he suggested renaming his office — the former Office of Equity is now called the Office of Community Impact.

Another St. Petersburg office, formerly called the Office of Supplier Diversity, was designed to help minority-owned businesses compete for city contracts and has since been renamed.

With those changes, the city feels protected, said city chief of staff Doyle Walsh.

Walsh said the city was “obviously concerned about … some of the other implications” in the bill, but said he would need to look at it further to understand the impact.

David Thompson, St. Petersburg’s director of government affairs, noted that compared to a prior version of the bill, this year’s bill is better defined, which would help lawyers know what’s permissible and what’s not.

In a statement, St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch said the city urges state lawmakers to consider the “broad economic, social, and legal consequences” of the bill.

“Our city is committed to inclusive progress and ensuring every resident can fully participate in civic life, free from discrimination and exclusion,” Welch said.

Last year, the bill failed to pass in the House or Senate. But this year, it’s one of the few pieces of legislation that DeSantis has explicitly come out in support of.

In January, DeSantis said that “Florida has led the nation on DEI elimination” and gave a shoutout to the bill from Yarborough and Rep. Dean Black, R-Jacksonville, the House sponsor. The Heritage Foundation’s lobbying arm is also backing the bill.

The bill has two more stops to go in the House and one more stop in the Senate before it could reach the governor’s desk.

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—Miami Herald staff writer Douglas Hanks contributed to this report.

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