TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – The Leon County Board of County Commissioners hosted a public hearing to consider placing a proposed “historic harm amendment” on November’s ballot.
Leon County commissioners voted 5-2 Monday to leave the adoption of the ordinance up to the people.
Officials emphasized this is not reparations, but instead addresses historic harmful public policy decisions based on geographical areas in the community.
Tallahassee A.L.E.R.T. member Melanie Andrade said she thinks it’s a good thing.
“I think that requiring our county to take a very specific look at policies that they’ve passed, and that are currently running, to make sure that it doesn’t harm or unintentionally treat any community unfairly,” she said. “We should do more of that.”
The measure previously stalled after the Leon County Charter Review Committee tied 9-9, but was revived before landing before the commission again in May.
Commissioners revived the amendment but opted to change the language so as not to violate any state or federal law. The county attorney was tasked with revising the amendment to remove any references to reparations, slavery and DEI.
The amendment’s sponsor, Dr. Bruce Strouble, changed the proposal to focus on geography, rather than race. The revised language removes “any potential protected-class eligibility to ensure broad applicability” and “shifted to a geographic framework to address localized community needs,” according to Strouble.
Now, voters will ultimately decide in November if the amendment is added to the Leon County charter.
If this passes, it would require regular assessments and reports of “negative” community conditions.
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