Florida Governor Bans Tax Dollars From Being Spent On ‘Radical Climate Agendas And Identity Politics’

If it is not dead yet, “woke” is certainly closer than ever to dying this week in Florida.

Thanks to a series of recently approved laws, state agencies and local governments in the Sunshine State will no longer be allowed to spend any taxpayer money on “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) schemes.

Spending by local governments for “climate change,” “net zero,” the “Green New Deal,” “environmental, social, and governance” (ESG), and “sustainability” programs is also officially verboten.

The two pieces of legislation, backed by Governor Ron DeSantis and signed into law last week, are a continuation of Florida’s efforts to expand freedom and destroy what the governor refers to as “woke” ideology, his office said.  

“Floridians should not be forced to pay for radical climate agendas or identity politics with their hard-earned tax dollars,” said DeSantis, a Republican, in a statement about the laws.

The “important bills,” continued the governor, “limit government overreach and prevent local authorities from imposing carbon taxes and discriminatory DEI mandates on Floridians.”

The “Free State of Florida: Where Woke Goes to Die”

DeSantis rose to national prominence by protecting Floridians from federal overreach during Covid and taking on the “woke” movement. Indeed, while signing the bill, he argued yet again that the “Free State of Florida” is where “woke goes to die.”

These latest efforts to rein in state and local bureaucrats are part of the broader effort to protect individual liberty, fiscal responsibility, and economic opportunity, his office said.

They continue efforts of recent years to rein in indoctrination, end taxpayer-funded ideological programs, and defend Floridians from “burdensome regulations,” the governor continued.

Still, DeSantis did not get everything he wanted from the GOP super-majority in Tallahassee.

Republican lawmakers in the House openly rebuffed his efforts to protect medical freedom and rein in abuses by artificial intelligence companies. The governor and his supporters are furious.   

DEI Extremism

The first bill, SB 1134, prohibits local and county government funding, promotion, or implementation of any “DEI” initiatives. It also bans DEI offices, bureaucrats, or programs. And it prohibits any tax funding for DEI-related schemes.

That means no more “diversity” training, no more “preferential treatment” for certain skin tones or sexual aberrations, and no more ideological extremism masquerading as support for “oppressed” classes.  

DEI, which even recently was all the rage in big companies and governments, claims to advance the interests of allegedly oppressed so-called racial, sexual, and gender minorities. Obviously, this comes at the expense of those said to be “oppressors.”

In practice, this DEI ideology has been perceived by critics as discriminatory against men, those of European descent, heterosexuals, and others.

Critics further argue that DEI is not just a well-intentioned effort to help the oppressed. Rather, they say, it is a new iteration of Marxist ideology seeking to divide society for the purpose of destroying it and fomenting revolution.

Widely hailed by supporters, the new Florida measure goes even further than other efforts seen across the nation. One key difference: The new law ensures that even grant recipients are not allowed to use Floridians’ tax money for advancing DEI.

“These people will be like DEI officers making $400,000 or $500,000 a year because they’ll get a contract for 100 grand from this city and that city,” DeSantis said. “The amount of money some of the people were making on this is really, really obscene.”

Also making the law stronger than those seen in other jurisdictions are enforcement mechanisms. These include, among other things, penalties for officials who flout the protections for taxpayers and ignore the law.

Under the bill, DeSantis and future governors would be able to remove officials who keep pushing DEI. Citizens are also able to file civil actions against local authorities if they face discrimination or witness other violations.

Lawmakers Celebrate Death of DEI

“The bill is necessary because cities and counties have been funding and promoting divisive activities under the guise of DEI,” said state Senator Clay Yarborough, a Republican who shepherded the legislation through the Florida Senate.

“Decisions related to individuals and actions should be based on merit and, if they are not, those making the decisions need to be replaced,” he added.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Yarborough offered examples of some of the absurdities. For instance, Hillsborough County paid over $570,000 for training to teach staff that their racism and sexism were “outside their control.” Alachua County, meanwhile, subjected employees to trainings claiming that “objectivity” and “being on time” were negative elements of “white culture.”

“At a time when many Floridians are struggling to afford groceries and gas, millions of taxpayer dollars should not continue to be wasted by local governments on DEI initiatives, even more so because they are failing to do what they claim,” the senator concluded.

In the Florida House, lawmakers also celebrated the effort. “We’re finding our way back to the everyman principles that make America great,” said Republican state Representative Dean Black.

“The Governor’s signature positions this law as a guiding light for equal and fair opportunity in our state,” he added. “No matter where you come from, no matter what you look like, the message should be clear: Florida recognizes your work ethic and the content of your character, and that’s what matters.”

The bill on DEI, described by one analyst as the “kill shot” for DEI schemes, follows years of battling the totalitarian ideological construct foisted on Americans by Big Government and Big Business. Efforts have also been launched to eradicate it from education at all levels.  

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is also targeting the NFL for its discriminatory policies aimed at boosting careers of supposed “minorities.”

Climate Schemes

At the same ceremony at Florida State College in Jacksonville, Governor DeSantis also signed HB 1217 to rein in abuses by local authorities justified under the guise of “green” policies or “climate change.”

Among other provisions, the new law prevents state and local governments from adopting or enforcing “greenhouse gas” emissions policies or targets. It also bans taxes, fees, and penalties on carbon dioxide.

Widely known among scientists as the “gas of life,” CO² has been demonized by totalitarians and climate activists from the United Nations on down seeking to control human activity.

The gas is exhaled by human beings and is consumed by plants. And human emissions of CO² make up a fraction of one percent of the “greenhouse gases” present naturally in the atmosphere.

To ensure compliance by local authorities, they must also submit annual reporting to provide transparency on where public funds are going.

Among other examples, DeSantis slammed the city of St. Petersburg for wasting $300,000 on “sustainability consulting.”

“We’re just going to stop the madness here,” the governor said.

Keeping Decision Making in Florida

The new law also bans any government participation in so-called “carbon trading” schemes. This includes the myriad “cap-and-trade” agreements being pursued by the UN, many national governments, the European Union, and multiple Democrat-run states.  

No taxpayer funds may go to organizations that are promoting “net-zero” policies under the new measure. Supporters of the law said this would help to defund the enormous tax-funded industry peddling climate hysteria around the world.

“Net-zero mandates and carbon taxes increase costs on families, businesses, and consumers,” said Republican Florida Representative Berny Jacques, one of the key lawmakers who championed the measure.

“This bill protects Floridians from higher energy prices, increased transportation costs, and other hidden junk fees caused by emissions mandates and burdensome regulations,” he added.

Thanking Governor DeSantis for his leadership, Rep. Jacques said “decision making will be kept in our hands, and not in the hands of global elites or green new deal activists.”

Federal Policy

At the federal level, President Donald Trump’s administration has dealt multiple devastating blows to the “climate” movement. This includes exiting multiple UN agreements and agencies, and reversing the Obama-era “finding” that CO² is pollution.

Speaking at the UN General Assembly last year, Trump ridiculed the man-made global-warming hypothesis as “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world.”

A Democratic president could easily reverse many of those policies. Under this new state law, however, Floridians should be better protected regardless of who is in the White House going forward.

Even now, various federal programs have helped cover Florida with economically and environmentally destructive solar-power schemes.

DeSantis Lost Some, Too

While DeSantis drew widespread national praise for the policies, lawmakers did not approve all his priorities.

Both the “AI Bill of Rights” and a medical-freedom package to rein in vaccine mandates were approved by the Senate but not even considered by the GOP-controlled House.

The AI bill sought to protect Floridians’ identity and image from being used without permission by Big Tech, among other provisions. The measure would have forced chatbots to share information with parents of children using them, too.

The medical-freedom legislation, meanwhile, sought to enshrine in law various executive branch protections from Covid vaccine mandates. It also would have stopped financial incentives to doctors who peddle unnecessary and risky shots. And it would have allowed pharmacists to sell ivermectin without a prescription.

House Speaker Daniel Perez, widely viewed as a “Republican In Name Only,” publicly rebuked the governor, saying the two bills were dead on arrival in the special session convened by DeSantis.

The governor hit back hard. “Will be interesting to see these guys campaign as Big Tech enthusiasts and guardians of the medical industrial complex,” he exclaimed on social media.

Alex Newman is an award-winning international journalist, the Founder of Liberty Sentinel, and a Contributor to Harbinger’s Daily.

Editor’s Note: ‘Zealous Climate Activism Is A False Religion With False Prophets’

The Bible, in fantastic detail, explains the future of the earth (see: Revelation 4-22). Those who trust God’s Word as the ultimate authority know that the world will not be destroyed by man-induced climate catastrophe.

Ken Ham, Founder and CEO of Answers in Genesis, in his article, “Zealous Climate Activism Is a False Religion… With Its Own False Prophets,” explained that the predictions of climate destruction, often proclaimed by politicians, are consistently shown to be inaccurate.

“Really, this zealous climate activism is a false religion with false prophets. These activists and scientists have no idea what is really happening or what is going to happen,” Ham described. “And they ignore much of the history concerning climate data. That’s why the predictions are constantly wrong! They have the wrong starting point (man’s word) and the wrong history (evolution and millions of years), so they come to wrong conclusions about the future.”

“Well, it’s ultimately all about them being their own god and worshipping themselves and the creation, rather than the Creator (see Romans chapter 1),” Ham underscored. “It’s their religion as they attempt to make some supposed ‘purpose’ for themselves in their (self-inflicted) meaningless existence. It’s what happens when people worship the creature rather than the Creator.”

Christian author Jonathan Brentner, in his article, “3 Climate Myths Spread By The Globalists,” explained why Christians should not fall prey to climate propaganda, and instead remember the unshakable hope we have for our future found in Christ.

“What’s more important is what Scripture tells us about creation and the future of this world. Our reason for hope rests in Jesus’ appearing to take us home,” he wrote. “The climate emergency is just one of many deceptions that the globalists are using to gain more control in this world. Even though we do not like it, the Bible tells us that in the last days just such a world order would come into existence with the antichrist at the helm (Revelation 13).”