The legislature could soon do away with the Florida Department of Management Services' “Office of Supplier Diversity.”
Under a proposal moving through the legislature, the office would be renamed the “Office of Supplier Development.” And its focus would shift from supporting women and minority-owned enterprises to Florida-based small businesses and veteran-owned businesses.
Miami-Gardens Democratic Representative Felicia Simone Robinson opposed the removal during a committee meeting Monday. She said more information is needed about how many businesses will be impacted.
“Before we are to repeal something like this, we should look at why this office was put in place, and how that impact of taking it back is going to play on Floridians as a whole,” she said.
DeFuniak Springs Republican Representative Shane Abbott supports the change.
“The data could show how much money we've helped in certain sectors of the community or in our state, but it also means that those are monies that didn't go to other sectors or communities in the state of Florida. So, when we get data, or if we're going to look at data, you need to look at data both ways,” he said.
The move comes amid national pushes from Republicans to remove minority access programs, calling them discriminatory. Another bill going through the Florida Legislature would bar local governments from having Diversity, Equity and Inclusion offices.