SB 7070 was passed by the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Education (5-3). The bill creates the Family Empowerment Scholarship Program, a new taxpayer-funded program for students from lower-income families to attend eligible non-public schools that meet their educational needs.The measure also increases educational opportunities for lower-income families who would otherwise be eligible to participate in the Florida Tax Credit (FTC) Scholarship Program by helping to reduce a nearly 13,000-student waiting list.

Catholic Mass participants will pray for divine inspiration and guidance for those serving in the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government and for members of the legal profession at the annual Red Mass of the Holy Spirit.

The Senate Infrastructure and Security Committee advanced (5-3) a proposal that would mandate local jurisdictions comply with all requests made by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hold individuals 48 hours beyond the time they would otherwise be released. Complying with detainer requests is and should remain at the discretion of the county.

The House Education Committee advanced a proposal that includes a new school-choice program. The bill will provide increased scholarship opportunities to lower-income families who would otherwise be eligible to participate in the Florida Tax Credit (FTC) program by alleviating a nearly 13,000-student waiting list for the longstanding program. The House bill goes further than a similar Senate proposal by also broadening eligibility for participation.

Ingrid Delgado, FCCB associate for respect life and social concerns, joined juvenile justice advocates, parents and lawmakers at a press conference to encourage juvenile justice reform.

"One of the things we like to do is provide opportunities for Catholics to live out their call to faithful citizenship, to be responsible Catholic Christians in the public square." - Michael Sheedy, Executive Director

On Tuesday morning, March 5, Florida Senate President Bill Galvano and Florida House Speaker Jose Oliva called their respective chambers to order for the 2019 Florida Legislative Session. At the invitation of the Senate president, Father John Cayer of the Co-Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Tallahassee offered the prayer to open the Senate session.

A video is now available as a companion resource to our Culture of Life brochure addressing our state constitution's privacy clause. Due to an interpretation of this right to privacy, the Florida Supreme Court found in 1989 that a law requiring parental consent prior to a minor's abortion was unconstitutional, even though similar laws have been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.  

An omnibus bill, SB 7070, that includes a school-choice expansion measure was passed (5-3) by the Senate Education Committee. The Family Empowerment Scholarship Program would create a new taxpayer-funded scholarship program for low-income students to attend private schools that meet their educational needs. As outlined in the governor's State of the State Address, the proposal would help to alleviate a nearly 13,000-student waiting list for the longstanding Florida Tax Credit (FTC) Scholarship Program. 

A bill that exempts those caring for the terminally ill from checking the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) was passed (9-0) by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. The PDMP was established in 2009 as a registry to assist law enforcement in reducing abuse of prescription drugs. Its use became mandatory last year, and an unintended consequence was a significant burden placed on those requiring end-of-life care. Experience has shown the terminally ill do not engage in drug seeking among multiple physicians. SB 592 would simplify the process of care for these terminal patients. 

An FCCB opposed bill that makes permanent a change in the retroactive eligibility of Medicaid was passed (6-4) by the Senate Health Policy Committee. SB 192 would cement a policy, which became active February 1, that restricts the period patients are eligible for Medicaid coverage to the calendar month before their application. The prior policy, which the Legislature changed last year as a cost cutting measure, allowed Medicaid coverage up to three months before the date individuals applied for coverage.

SB 168 was heard Monday, February 11 in the Senate Judiciary Committee, the first of three committee stops. Under the proposed bill, police would be required to honor all requests made by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hold individuals beyond the time they would otherwise be released from a law enforcement agency. Courts have found that state and local governments do not have the authority to enforce immigration laws.

For the first time in many years, full funding of the Sadowski Affordable Housing Trust Fund was included in a governor's proposed budget. Governor DeSantis' budget, which outlines potential spending for the fiscal year that starts July 1, 2019, does not recommend any sweeps of state and local housing trust funds. Legislators have historically raided the pool, which was established to provide funding for construction and rehabilitation of affordable housing, down-payment support, emergency repairs, and limited rental development to assist the disabled, elderly, veterans, disaster victims, and others in need of housing assistance.

Since taking office on January 8, Governor DeSantis has filled three vacancies on the Florida Supreme Court. Longtime Justices Barbara Pariente, R. Fred Lewis and Peggy Quince were required to step down after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70. (A 2018 amendment to Florida's constitution raised the mandatory retirement age for justices to 75, effective July 1, 2019.)

The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops is deeply encouraged by the signal Governor DeSantis broadcast to the people of Florida and to the Florida Legislature by presenting a budget that uses every penny of Sadowski State and Local Housing Trust Fund money solely for housing.  The Florida Catholic Conference was one of the eleven founding members of the Sadowski Coalition back in 1992 when the William E. Sadowski Act was enacted.  We are now one of over 30 statewide organizations that comprise the Sadowski Coalition.

The bishops of Florida join with Catholics and others of goodwill in reacting in horror and disgust to the recently passed law in New York State that legalizes abortion essentially for any reason through all nine months of pregnancy and removes any protection for children born alive after abortion. Sadly, similar bills were proposed in Virginia and elsewhere. As Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann, Chairman of the U.S. Bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, stated, "This legislation is evil, pure and simple."

The Florida Catholic Conference (FCC) was established on February 1, 1969, as an agency of the Catholic bishops of Florida. The five founding bishops served the four dioceses comprising the Province of Miami at the time: Archbishop Coleman F. Carroll of Miami; Bishop Paul F. Tanner of St. Augustine; Bishop William D. Borders of Orlando; Bishop Charles B. McLaughlin of St. Petersburg; and Bishop John J. Fitzpatrick of Miami. As the dioceses of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Palm Beach and Venice were established, their respective bishops joined the FCC board of directors. Thomas A. Horkan, Jr., an attorney from Miami, was appointed the FCC’s first executive director and established the office in Tallahassee, Florida’s capital city.

In their annual statement marking the January 22 anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade, the bishops of Florida acknowledged that the Church's teaching on abortion is continuously proving to be prophetic. "Our nation is increasingly rejecting abortion and Roe v. Wade as states continue to adopt more limitations on abortion and expand alternatives to abortion," said the bishops.

In one of his first acts after taking office, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday, January 9 made a historic appointment to the Florida Supreme Court, naming appellate Judge Barbara Lagoa as the high court's first Cuban-American female justice.

On October 10, 2018, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a proposed rule on the "public charge" eligibility requirement that the federal government considers when determining whether to admit an immigrant into the country or allow an immigrant to adjust status and become a lawful permanent resident. The rule proposes to drastically expand the definition under which a migrant would be considered a public charge to what essentially amounts to a wealth test, discounting the contributions of certain immigrants. A human being's value is intrinsic, and one's resources cannot solely determine his or her potential or contribution to this nation.