New Florid laws spark debate

Florida Governor Ron Desantis recently signed several bills, some of which have provoked much debate among the state’s residents and the country at large. From restricting teen golf cart drivers and defunding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs, to modifying middle and high school start times, with these new laws in place, some Floridians will experience drastic change in the near future

Here is a round-up of the recent bills signed

Bill combating illegal immigration

Gov Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 1718 last week to tackle the dangerous effects of illegal immigration caused by the federal government’s border policies

The law requires that hospitals that receive Medicaid question patients about whether they are U S citizens and are legally present in the country Hospitals are also expected to report the responses to the state

The new law will crack down on the smuggling of immigrants, stop municipalities from issuing ID cards to people in the state illegally, and ensure that employers are hiring American citizens or people in the country legally

The new measure:

Requires private employers to use the EVerify system to verify the eligibility of newly hired employees, fines employers $1,000 per day if they fail to use E-Verify, and suspends the

WHAT’S INS

licenses of those employers until they come back into compliance

Suspends licenses of employers who knowingly employ illegal aliens, and makes using a fake ID to gain employment a felony

Enhance penalties for human smuggling, including making knowingly transporting five or more immigrants without legal status or a single minor a second-degree felony subject to a $10,000 fine and up to 15 years in prison

Provide $12 million to continue the Unauthorized Alien Transport Program to relocate immigrants to sanctuary jurisdictions if they lack legal status

Ban local governments and nongovernmental organizations from issuing identification documents to people without legal status and invalidates all out-of-state driver's licenses issued exclusively to people in the U S illegally

Bill restricting teen golf cart drivers

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill

Haitian-American

That Will Restrict Teens Who Are Driving Golf Carts

The new law, House Bill 949, was approved by DeSantis last week The law goes into effect on October 1

Under the bill, golf cart drivers under the age of 18 must be at least 15 with a learner's permit, or 16 with a driver's license

Florida minors will be unable to drive golf carts without proper identification under a new measure Anyone who is 18 or older must have a valid government-issued ID to drive a golf cart Florida law had previously allowed anyone 14 and older to drive a golf cart

Bills regarding education and workforce

Governor Ron DeSantis signed three bills on Monday, May 15 to further strengthen Florida's position as the top state for higher education, and to advance the objective of becoming the top state for workforce education by 2030

The Governor signed Senate Bill 266 to defund diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs at all public universities in the state DeSantis called DEI a “distraction from the core mission ”

The law prohibits Florida state colleges from using state or federal funding to promote, support, or maintain programs that “advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion, or promote or engage in political or social activism ”

DeSantis explained that this move is to reorient the universities back to their traditional mission- to treat people as individuals, “not to try to divy them up based on any type of superficial characteristics ”

According to the law, general education courses “ may not distort significant historical events or include a curriculum that teaches identity politics” based on “theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States and were created to maintain social, political, and economic inequities ”

The Governor also signed House Bill 931 to prohibit Florida’s public institutions from requiring students, faculty, or staff to pledge loyalty to any "ideology or movement," including continues on B2 – Bills spark debate

AfriKin Intuition: Where Music, Art and Culture collide

Andre Coley, Daren Sammy appointed West Indies head coaches

Performer and playwright Ingrid Griffith portrays one of the 15 characters she represents in her one-woman show Shirley Chisholm: Unbossed and Unbowed presented by Island SPACE on Mother's Day. | Photo by David I. Muir (Island Syndicate)

Bernadee Morris (center) with current team members of Sonshine Communicaons at their 30th anniversary recepon in Aventura last Friday. – Contributed

City of Miramar Commissioner Yvee Colbourne is pictured bringing Mother’s Day flowers to community members at the City of Miramar Senior Center. – Contributed

Shirley Chisholm: ‘Unbossed and Unbowed’ performer and playwright Ingrid Griffith (2nd from le) pictured with Bridget Edwards (le) and Carson "Eddy" Edwards of Riddims Markeng with his mother, Sulvia Gibson at the Pompano Beach Cultural Center on Mother's Day – Photo by David I. Muir (Island Syndicate)

Dancehall arst Shabba Ranks performed for a sold out crowd on May 12th at the Miramar Cultural Center Artspark (Photo: City of Miramar)

Bernadee Morris, Sole Owner, Founder and CEO of Sonshine Communicaons receiving the Miami Dade County’s “Bernadee A. Morris Day” Proclamaon from City of North Miami Beach Commissioner Daniela Jean, at a Welcome Recepon celebrang Sonshines' 30th Anniversary last Friday at the Aventura Hylton in Miami. – Contributed

Miramar’s Vice Mayor Alexandra P. Davis hosted a Job Fair held at the Miramar Cultural Center on May 11th with over 2,000 job seekers in aendance and 50 companies hiring. – Contributed

(L-R) Miramar’s Assistant City Manager Adam Burden, Vice Mayor Alexandra P. Davis and City Manager Dr. Roy Virgin at the Haian Cultural Celebraon at Shirley Branca Park in Miramar May 13th. – Contributed