Florida taxpayers have spent years watching their government fund programs sorting citizens by race, sex, and sexual orientation – all dressed up in the language of "equity."
Now Ron DeSantis is finally coming for it at the local level, and Miami Beach Democrats just sent a panicked letter to Tallahassee begging them to stop.
And every single Miami Beach commissioner signed a letter opposing SB 1134 because they know exactly what this bill does to their little DEI empire.
DeSantis Has Been Building to This Moment
This isn't DeSantis throwing a dart at a map.
In 2023, he signed legislation ending DEI at Florida's public universities, calling it "discrimination, exclusion, and indoctrination."
Then Trump took office and signed executive orders eliminating DEI programs across the entire federal government on day one.
Now Florida is moving to finish the job – extending the ban to counties and cities that have been quietly funding the same programs with your local tax dollars.
Rep. Dean Black, one of the bill's sponsors, put it plainly: "Collectively, our society is over this, and they want to move past it so we can move back together again."
He's right.
At least 22 states have already passed anti-DEI legislation.
What Miami Beach Is Actually Defending
Miami Beach commissioners claim the bill is dangerously vague.
What they won't say directly is what "vague" actually means – it means they can't figure out which of their taxpayer-funded programs will survive the scrutiny.
The bill would ban counties and cities from funding DEI offices, programming, and training tied to race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
Officials who violate it face misfeasance and malfeasance charges – meaning Democrats who defy this law could be removed from office.
That's what has Miami Beach terrified.
Democrats Threatening Lawsuits Before the Bill Even Passes
The Miami Beach commission warned about "costly litigation" localities could face.
Translation: Democrats want to use your tax dollars to sue the state over a law that stops them from spending your tax dollars on DEI.
Florida Young Republicans and DeSantis both threw their support behind the bill, with the governor saying "Let's go!" when it was filed.
SB 1134 has already cleared its final Senate committee on a 19-5 vote – every single "no" vote came from a Democrat.
The House version is one committee stop away from a floor vote.
Here's What This Really Comes Down To
Florida led the nation when DeSantis ended DEI at universities in 2023.
Trump finished the job at the federal level on day one.
Now SB 1134 closes the last remaining loophole – the one where your city council quietly kept funding the same programs Tallahassee already banned.
Miami Beach Democrats spent their letter asking whether the Kosher meals program for Jewish seniors and mammograms for underinsured women would survive – as if anyone believes this bill is coming for mammograms.
They know exactly what this bill targets.
They're just hoping you don't.
DeSantis said in 2023 that "the whole experiment with DEI is coming to an end in the state of Florida."
He meant it.
Sources:
- Jesse Scheckner, "Miami Beach Commission uniformly urges state leaders to kill sweeping anti-DEI bill," Florida Politics, February 18, 2026.
- A.G. Gancarski, "Governor-backed bill squashing local DEI advances in Senate," Florida Politics, February 3, 2026.
- Staff, "Florida bill could force local governments to end DEI programs and funding," WFSU News, February 11, 2026.
- Staff, "Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing," The White House, January 20, 2025.
- Ron DeSantis, "DeSantis bans state funding for diversity, inclusion programs at Florida public universities," Fox News, May 15, 2023.
