TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A controversial anti-rioting bill championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis is moving quickly toward passage in the House, but is likely to stall in the Senate.

Triggered by the mostly peaceful protests after the police killing of George Floyd, sponsor Rep. Danny Burgess - R-Zephyrhills - said House Bill 1 would protect against agitators who destroy properties during public disorder.

Opponents say it's intended to silence and criminalize Black protesters and allies. Speaking at a Criminal Justice Reform panel by the League of Women Voters of Tallahassee, Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, said lawmakers can file any bill they want, which doesn't mean it will become law.

"Ninety percent of the bills in the Senate never see the light of day and will not become law," said Brandes. "And so, you know, if you want to talk about a bill that's before a committee, and an amendment that's before a committee that I'm going to have to vote on, I'm going to tell you what I think, in general. But I don't talk about bills that aren't going to make a committee agenda."

The bill's Senate companion has yet to be heard, and its chances are slim, since Brandes chairs two and sits on the other of its three committee stops. Florida is among 11 states attempting to pass similar legislation.

Micah Kubic, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida - a group that opposes the bill - said no one should sit back and assume that cooler heads will prevail on this issue.

"One of the things the bill does is make it such that you can hurt protesters and then, sort of claim self defense," said Kubic. "I think folks across the state, from all sorts of backgrounds, are saying, 'That's not who we are.' And I think that is having an impact; I think legislators across the political divide are hearing that message."

Under the bill, anyone charged with a rioting-related offense might be left in jail until their first court appearance or a court determines bail. It also would penalize local governments that "de-fund" police agencies.

The bill has a final stop in the House Judiciary Committee before it can be heard on the floor - but again, no traction in the Senate.


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NEW YORK -- Over 10,000 New York and New Jersey front-line airport workers will get health insurance as part of new contract negotiations that come at a time when more people are flying.

The Healthy Terminals Act provides zero-premium cost health coverage to contract workers at John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty international airports.

According to Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ, it's the first state-level legislation of its kind in the country.

Rob Hill, union vice president and airports division director for New York and New Jersey, said it is a victory that they are finally being recognized as essential workers, but it comes at a price.

"And unfortunately, we lost some of our members due to the pandemic and the virus," Hill recounted. "To get the public to see that, and the airlines and state, that these workers have to have health care."

COVID-19 has disproportionately affected people of color, in part because many are front-line workers. Hill sees the addition of health insurance as a racial-justice matter, and since contract airport workers are predominantly people of color, he thinks similar measures should be in place at other U.S. airports.

Especially with new variants of COVID-19 spreading, Hill asserted workers having healthcare benefits is in the public interest.

"That concern is also why this is an issue not just for the workers, but for the traveling public," Hill explained. "To know that the airport workers they're coming in contact with have the ability to go to the doctor, and take care of themselves and have sick days, etc."

The contract includes quarterly reviews to ensure compliance with health and safety guidance, along with policies requiring personal protective equipment, social distancing and other precautions. Also included are new policies to protect workers from discrimination for natural hair or hairstyles tied to racial, ethnic or cultural identities.

MILWAUKEE -- Community leaders from Milwaukee rally today to try to convince Gov. Tony Evers to hear their concerns about police accountability efforts for the state.

Activists will be outside the State Capitol in Madison, calling for creation of an executive commission to extend public dialogue on police reforms.

Evers recently signed legislation, that, among other things, bans the use of chokeholds in certain situations.

Angela Lang, executive director of Black Leaders Organizing for Communities (BLOC), said despite the bipartisanship behind these bills, citizen voices were not given enough weight.

"You know, we fought really hard at our local fire and police commission meeting to say we didn't want an exception to the chokehold ban because we're afraid that that exception would be abused, and would not actually have saved someone like George Floyd," Lang explained.

The legislation arose from a task force on policing and racial equity proposed by GOP leaders. When signing the bills, the Democratic governor said he still wants to see a more robust attempt to address these issues. However, it's unclear if Evers will agree to assemble an executive commission.

Lang thinks with lawmakers dominating the conversation, there's still too much investment in police departments, and not enough in such areas as violence prevention. She's convinced if politics can be removed from the conversation, important perspectives can change the narrative.

"We are hopeful that people can see the humanity," Lang remarked. "People can hear the stories, people can, you know, see the people that have been impacted by criminal justice and law enforcement, and racial profiling."

Even though Black communities are still dealing with historical trauma from policing, Lang contended it's a topic that should be on the minds of all Wisconsinites.

"We think of safety and automatically equate it to the police department, and oftentimes, it's framed as communities of color," Lang pointed out. "But really, we can be talking about safety as a whole, and what it means for us to be safe in Wisconsin."

The group added it wants a commission that leans on community voices, and that will hold at least one of its hearings in Milwaukee.

UPDATE: HB 2002 has died in the Legislature. "This is a profoundly disappointing setback for Oregonians who value and have called for racial justice and changes in our approach to community safety," groups supporting the measure said in a joint statement. "Particularly people and communities who are over-policed and who have historically been left out of policymaking." (4:42 p.m. PDT, June 18, 2021)

SALEM, Ore. -- A bill that would bring sweeping changes to criminal justice is in front of Oregon lawmakers.

Supporters hope it gets past the finish line before the session ends.

House Bill 2002 covers a range of issues, such as ending supervision fees for people who have finished their prison sentences.

Danita Harris, metro campaigns coordinator for the Oregon Food Bank, said it also makes changes to policing so law-enforcement officers don't pull people over for low-level offenses, such as broken taillights.

"What that does, is serve to lessen the encounters that folks are having with the police and the fewer encounters, the fewer negative encounters," Harris asserted. "It also gives the police the opportunity to focus on policing as opposed to traffic violations."

Harris added the bill makes major investments, such as an $8 million increase in victim services, with dedicating funding for culturally specific organizations. They pointed out the measure is the culmination of decades of activism, and the racial-justice reckoning over the past year has catapulted the issue onto the desks of decision makers.

Julianne Jackson, director of movement building at the Partnership for Safety and Justice, said a large coalition of groups made the bill a priority, and the communities most affected by the criminal-justice system put the bill together.

"These are the folks that are closest to the trauma, closest to the issues," Jackson observed. "They're the closest to addiction, poverty, racial disparities, over-policing, all of those things, and these are the folks that drafted this legislation."

Harris said House Bill 2002 is one of Oregon Food Bank's main priorities this legislative session, noting the measure addresses issues that are deeply intertwined with hunger. They say hunger doesn't exist in a vacuum, and policies also have to lift up marginalized groups, such as communities of color, trans and gender non-conforming people, and people with disabilities, to tackle the issue.

"We know that if we really want to challenge the systems that create the need of food services, we have to be willing to do that work through policy... policy like House Bill 2002 that's really focused on the marginalized groups that we work with," Harris explained.

The legislative session is scheduled to end June 27.