TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – A program administered by a joint city-county office may close after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis officially signed legislation to prevent local governments from enacting DEI practices.
Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor, one of the leading voices on the commission for civil rights issues, floated a lawsuit on Monday, potentially even one filed by Leon County itself.
“We’re (Blacks) 200 years old, too much free cotton been picked, too much free tobacco been picked. We done put in too damn much to be turned around,” Proctor said.
The Minority, Women & Small Business Enterprise (MWSBE) program is administered by the Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality. Amongst other help, they offer a certification which allows businesses to be featured in a database owned by the local governments.
“Nobody’s going to allow the march of history to be reversed. Florida, since 1985, has had in place the MBE office (in the state government),” Proctor said, adding that he was the third ever employee hired to that office that year.
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K. Lennoris Barber, the Executive Director of Mount Olive Affordable Housing & Community Development Corporation, said the program is meant to give minority and women owned businesses a chance to compete for local government contracts through the request for proposals (RFP) process.
“Going through the RFP process takes a great deal of supportive type services. And a lot of small businesses does not have the administrative or support services to be able to put together the packages,” he said.
However, Barber said he doesn’t believe the current programs are monitored well enough. He said a reset, even a forced one, might make OEV recalibrate and reallocate the MWSBE money on a geographic, rather than a racial, basis.
“I really, truly don’t see that it may impact Black businesses a great deal because the current programs, while I appreciate the concept of the programs, the programs don’t have a great deal of teeth. It’s more like a barking dog without teeth,” Barber said.
Instead, Barber added that money could be redirected to the Community Redevelopment Agency, which is geographically constrained and provides money to neighborhoods like Frenchtown, Bond and College Town.
“Now, honestly, I think white women have benefited more than any other group from these programs,” Barber said.
Senator Clay Yarborough, the bill sponsor, previously affirmed Gov. DeSantis’s concern and added that these programs are fiscally irresponsible.
“DEI is undermining merit – based decisions, it’s pitting groups against each other, and it provides a lucrative opportunity for those pushing the narrative while growing the financial burden on taxpayers,” Yarbough previously said.
Proctor said both the city and county governments need to be compliant by January 1, 2027, when the ban kicks in. However, he hopes a judge will rule the new law “unconstitutionally vague” before then. Previously, Leon County staff said they were undergoing a comprehensive review of the county’s ordinances to identify any other programs that might violate the law. An update is expected this summer.
“It’s a great opportunity to just rewrite the narrative, recalibrate, and let’s come up with some programs that absolutely work,” Barber said.
Proctor said the new law may also impact mid-term elections, scheduled for primaries this summer and general elections in November. He said “no party affiliation” voters, better known as independent voters, might take the loss of these programs into account.
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