Which state legislators put people ahead of powerful special interests and which did not?
Find out at www.FloridaReportCard.com
Progress Florida and Florida Watch today unveiled the 2022 “People First” Report Card, grading lawmakers on key floor votes cast during this year’s regular legislative session and subsequent special sessions. The grades account for votes across a wide spectrum of issues including health care, reproductive freedom, safeguarding democracy, public schools, clean water, climate change, LGBTQ equality, housing affordability, and more.
The “People First” Report Card grades every state legislator on key floor votes cast in their respective chambers – 33 votes in the House and 31 in the Senate. To achieve a passing grade, lawmakers had to consistently vote to put “People First.” The report card provides Floridians a valuable tool for determining if their elected officials in Tallahassee are fighting to put their constituents’ priorities first or bowing to powerful corporate interests and anti-public interest partisanship.
“We applaud the legislators who put ‘People First’, despite pressure from powerful special interests,” said Progress Florida Executive Director Mark Ferrulo. “It is important to highlight these lawmakers who fought for Florida families, not just with rhetoric and political promises, but with their votes.”
“This legislature will be remembered as one of the most extreme and divisive in Florida history,” said Florida Watch Executive Director Josh Weierbach. “While Gov. DeSantis and his legislative allies were busy attacking reproductive freedom, the LGBTQ community, workers, and the freedom to vote, they failed to meaningfully address critical needs including housing affordability, access to health care, common sense gun violence reforms, and the climate crisis.”
Some of the votes factored into lawmaker grades include the 15-week abortion ban (HB 5); the anti-solar freedom bill passed at the behest of monopoly utility companies (HB 741); the highly partisan, racially gerrymandered congressional redistricting maps (SB 2-C, SB 102); and the hateful “Don’t Say Gay” legislation (HB 1557), among many others. The complete list of bills scored can be found at www.FloridaReportCard.com.
Listed below are the seven state legislators who earned a “People’s Champion” Award for their A+ grade and 100% voting records.
Rep. Ben Diamond (D-St. Petersburg) Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando) Rep. Evan Jenne (D-Dania Beach) Rep. Dotie Joseph (D-Miami) Rep. Angie Nixon (D-Jacksonville) Rep. Michele Rayner (D-St. Petersburg) Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith (D-Orlando)
“Year after year, we see too many legislators ignore the true needs of Floridians at the behest of large corporations and special interests,” continued Ferrulo. “Floridians owe a debt of gratitude to the lawmakers who received an A on this Report Card, demonstrating steadfast support for putting ‘People First’ this past law making session.” “Politicians like to talk a good game when it comes to helping everyday Floridians, but too often they put personal ambition and the needs of their corporate donors first. The ‘People First’ Report Card has become a trusted tool for informing citizens which state lawmakers are matching their rhetoric with their votes,” added Weierbach.
The interactive 2022 Progress Florida “People First” Report Card can be viewed at www.FloridaReportCard.com.
Here are the Florida House and Senate Members Earning an “A” on the “People First” Report Card
Sen. Loranne Ausley (D-Tallahassee) Sen. Lori Berman (D-Boynton Beach) Sen. Lauren Book (D-Plantation) Sen. Janet Cruz (D-Tampa) Sen. Gary Farmer, Jr. (D-Fort Lauderdale) Sen. Tina Polsky (D-Boca Raton) Sen. Annette Taddeo (D-Miami) Sen. Victor M. Torres, Jr. (D-Kissimmee) Rep. Kristin Arrington (D-Kissimmee) Rep. Robin Bartleman (D-Weston) Rep. Darryl Campbell (D-Fort Lauderdale) Rep. Kevin Chambliss (D-Miami) Rep. Tracie Davis (D-Jacksonville) Rep. Ben Diamond (D-St. Petersburg) Rep. Fentrice Driskell (D-Tampa) Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando) Rep. Joe Geller (D-Dania Beach) Rep. Joy Goff-Marcil (D-Maitland) Rep. Michael Gottlieb (D-Davie)
Rep. Michael Grieco (D-Miami Beach) Rep. Dianne Hart (D-Tampa) Rep. Yvonne Hayes Hinson (D-Gainesville) Rep. Christine Hunschofsky (D-Coconut Creek) Rep. Evan Jenne (D-Hollywood) Rep. Dotie Joseph (D-Miami) Rep. Travaris L. McCurdy (D-Orlando) Rep. Daisy Morales (D-Orlando) Rep. Angie Nixon (D-Jacksonville) Rep. Michele Rayner (D-St. Petersburg) Rep. Felicia Robinson (D-Miami Gardens) Rep. Kelly Skidmore (D-Boca Raton) Rep. Emily Slosberg-King (D-Boca Raton) Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith (D-Orlando) Rep. Allison Tant (D-Tallahassee) Rep. Geraldine Thompson (D-Orlando) Rep. Susan Valdes (D-Tampa) Rep. Patricia Williams (D-Fort Lauderdale) Rep. Marie Woodson (D-Hollywood)
For more information, go to www.FloridaReportCard.com.
Progress Florida is a statewide organization working to build a Florida that works for all Floridians, not just the powerful and politically connected. Learn more at www.ProgressFlorida.org
Florida Watch is a communications and research organization dedicated to holding the powerful accountable. Learn more at www.FloridaWatch.org.