DOWNTOWN TALLAHASSEE, Fl — The City of Tallahassee will review its policies that could conflict with a new anti-DEI law recently signed by Governor Ron DeSantis.
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The law, which takes effect January 1st, 2027, limits local governments from funding or promoting any policies related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Beyond a policy review, the city will also examine what legal action could look like to push back against the law. City Commissioner Jack Porter made clear where her priorities lie.
"While we do our homework, I guess I'm more interested in how we fight back than complying at this point," Porter said.
A similar motion passed 5-1 at Tuesday's County Commission meeting after being raised by Commissioner David O'Keefe. If approved at a later date, the Commission would hire outside counsel to look into potential legal action.
That vote came after the County Attorney confirmed that a proclamation honoring June as Pride Month would not be allowed next year under the new law, because it is not included on the list of exemptions.
O'Keefe said he wants to consider all options, including getting professional guidance before deciding whether to pursue a legal challenge.
"I'm hoping to get a legal opinion or legal advice that says, does Leon County have standing to challenge the constitutionality of SB 1134 in court? Because we need to be diligent when we decide what we might or might not take to court. So let's get professional legal advice on if we have standing and if we could challenge this," O'Keefe said.
The County also voted to send a Charter Amendment back to the Citizens Charter Review Committee in a surprising turn. Advocates for the amendment say it is about using data to analyze past policy decisions and find ways to address any impacts on communities.
"We want to focus solely on what harms happened historically, and then we want to look at the regions and communities and neighborhoods, census block groups that are impacted," community activist Bruce Strouble said.
Critics of the amendment have raised concerns about a potential clash with the same anti-DEI legislation. Advocates, however, remain confident there is a path forward by focusing on data and geographical region.
"Well, now we're just simply looking to say, how do we build this in a way that clears the legal obstacles and hurdles put before us? We want to make sure that we're not doing anything that violates the new state legislation, so we're not looking to do anything DEI or reparations related," Strouble said.
The charter amendment is set to go back before the Citizens Charter Review Committee as county and city staff review their policies that could be impacted by the legislation. The County has already taken steps to shut down its Minority, Women Small Business Enterprise Program due to the same concerns.
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