Florida Politics by Ana Ceballos
February 7, 2020
Two proposals moving forward in the Florida Legislature would make the process of selecting presidents at public colleges and universities more secretive.
The House State Affairs Committee on Thursday approved a leadership-backed bill (PCB SAC 20-04) that would create a public-records and public-meetings exemption for information related to presidential searches.
In the Senate, an identical bill (SB 774) is being pushed by Senate Education Chairman. Manny Diaz Jr., a Hialeah Republican who says the proposal would help universities and colleges attract more talented pools of candidates.
“I don’t want to call the pool of candidates that we are getting weak,” Diaz said during an interview on Thursday. “I am just saying we’ve had seven openings in the last eight years, and we have not even had a sitting president considered.”
The Senate bill passed its first committee last week, with Democratic Sen. Lori Berman of Lantana casting the lone dissenting vote. The State Affairs Committee approved the House version in a 16-6 vote.
