TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – A Leon County Charter Review Committee voted to advance a Historical Harms Amendment at a Thursday meeting. <\/p>\n
The amendment advanced on a 14-3 vote. <\/p>\n
This meeting comes after the original amendment stalled in the Charter Review Committee on a 9-9 vote.<\/a><\/p>\n The Leon County Commission voted to revive the amendment<\/a> and send it back to the citizens committee in May.<\/p>\n County staff were against the proposal, especially in light of a new state law <\/a>that bans local governments from funding DEI. <\/p>\n The amendment\u2019s sponsor, Dr. Bruce Strouble, changed the proposal to focus on geography, rather than race. The revised language removes any \u201cpotential protected-class eligibility to ensure broad applicability\u201d and \u201cshifted to a geographic framework to address localized community needs,\u201d according to Strouble.<\/p>\n More Tallahassee news:<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no reparations in there. We would be in full compliance,\u201d Strouble said.<\/p>\n If the amendment gets added to the November ballot, they would be asked if the Leon County Charter should be changed.<\/p>\n The options before the Charter Review Committee on Thursday were to take no action, further amend the preamble to the county charter and\/or adopt Strouble\u2019s amendment. <\/p>\n Strouble said the amendment language is meant to be \u201cevergreen.\u201d <\/p>\n Employment attorney Linda Bond Edwards said some of the past discrimination truly was geographic, not racial. <\/p>\n Dr. Howard Kessler said he \u201cdoesn\u2019t see it as graciously\u201d and that detrimental infrastructure was put in Black communities. <\/p>\n Ultimately, the County Charter Review Committee advanced the amendment. Next steps include three more meetings, then a county commission vote to put it on the ballot before voters ultimately decide.<\/p>\n To keep up with the latest news as it develops, follow WCTV on Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, Nextdoor<\/a> <\/a>and X<\/a> (Twitter<\/a>).<\/p>\n Have a news tip or see an error? Write to us here<\/a>. Please include the article\u2019s headline in your message.<\/p>\n Be the first to see all the biggest headlines by downloading the WCTV News app. Click here<\/a> to get started.<\/p>\n Copyright 2026 WCTV. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n