A controversial proposal aimed at curtailing lawsuits against the state by the Florida School Boards Association is back for the 2016 session and is starting to move through both chambers of the Florida Legislature.
House Bill 1155/Senate Bill 1426 prohibit membership groups — namely, the FSBA — from using public dollars to sue the state, a move that critics argue could have a chilling effect on the group’s ability to challenge laws and programs its members feel are unconstitutional.
Both bills — which passed their first House and Senate committees on Tuesday — refer broadly to “membership associations” that receive taxpayer dollars, but the hearings in both chambers focused almost solely on the school board association and its recent participation in a lawsuit challenging a voucher-like state program that helps children from low-income families afford private school.
