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April 1, 2019On March 26 and 27, nearly 400 Catholics from across the state convened in Tallahassee to participate in Catholic Days at the Capitol. With a record crowd in attendance, including over 70 high school students, participants from as near as the local Tallahassee community to as far south as Cutler Bay in Miami-Dade County put their faith into action in Florida's capital city. Participants were briefed on important policy issues, met with legislators and/or their staff, observed lawmaking in action, posed for group photos with their bishops and enjoyed a luncheon and award presentation. The Red Mass followed by a reception concluded the two days of activities.
Additional Catholic Days photos are available on our website and Facebook page.
This year, participants engaged the following three issues:
Parental Consent Prior to a Minor's Abortion
SB 1774 (Stargel) and HB 1335 (Grall) require that a parent or legal guardian shall provide consent before a minor can terminate her pregnancy. Florida statutes require, in most cases, that a parent must consent to a minor's medical treatment. In 1989, a similar law was successfully challenged in our state. The Florida Supreme Court's concerns with the bypass procedure cited in striking down Florida's former parental consent law are addressed in these bills.
HB 1335 was passed by its first committee of reference last week and is now in the Judiciary Committee. SB 1774 has not yet been scheduled for a hearing by its first committee of reference, Health Policy.
Parental Empowerment in Education
SB 7070 (Education Committee) and HB 7075 (Education Committee; Sullivan) create the Family Empowerment Scholarship Program, a new state-funded program for students from lower-income families to attend eligible non-public schools that meet their educational needs. The measures also increase 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 the current waitlist of 12,974 students.
The House proposal establishes a new methodology to calculate the value of both new and existing scholarships, which significantly decreases their value for students above 3rd grade. The change would significantly destabilize the scholarship programs. Catholic Days participants urged lawmakers to increase scholarship opportunities for lower-income families without harming existing scholarship programs.
James Herzog, FCCB associate director for education
HB 7075 was heard in its final committee of reference this week, during which James Herzog, FCCB associate director for eduction, gave testimony. It is now on the Special Order Calendar in the House for Wednesday, April 3. SB 7070 is in its last committee of reference, Appropriations.
Funding for Protection of Natural Resources
As part of a four-year, $2.5 billion environmental plan, Governor DeSantis in his propose budget for the coming fiscal year recommends an investment of $625 million for protection of Florida's environment and water quality. Protection of our state's natural environment and water resources are one of the most critical issues facing our state and requires immediate action.
Both the Senate and House have included environmental funding in their proposed budgets. The House budget proposal includes $658.5 million in environmental spending, while the Senate has proposed $656 million.
Save the date for next year's Catholic Days at the Capitol
January 28-29, 2020!
