Senate codifies Office of Faith and Community after heated debate over political activity

TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Senate voted 27-9 on April 24 to codify the Office of Faith and Community within the executive office of the governor, embedding the liaison role and the office's duties into state law after more than an hour of floor debate and a failed amendment that would have restricted political activity by the office's staff.

Why it matters: The office coordinates with faith-based and community organizations across the state and has promoted disaster relief, volunteer networks and other social services. Opponents of the bill said the office had been used last fall to distribute material opposing a constitutional amendment and sought statutory guardrails to prevent state resources from being used for partisan political activity.

What happened on the floor: Senator Yarbrough, sponsor of SB 820, said the bill "codifies the Office of Faith and Community within the executive office of the governor to connect and support Florida's faith-based and community organizations." He described the office as a connector for a statewide network of nonprofits and religious institutions that serve vulnerable Floridians.

Senator Polsky offered a late amendment to bar political activity by the liaison or employees of the office while on duty. Polsky told colleagues he had emails showing staff used government email and the governor's masthead to distribute material opposing an amendment in the 2024 election cycle, and urged the Senate to add statutory guardrails.

Senator Yarbrough and several supporters argued the state already has statutes limiting political activity by public employees and warned the Polsky amendment risked overlapping or confusing rules. Senator Yarbrough said federal case law (and what he called the Little Hatch Act's interpretation) generally treated partisan restrictions differently than issue-based speech and that prior legal challenges had been dismissed. He urged caution about overbroad restrictions.

Senator Gates and others urged that the office include broad outreach to many faiths and asked whether the council membership reflected the state's diversity. Senator Yarbrough said the advisory council is appointed by the governor, Senate president and House speaker and the office itself maintains broad outreach to more than 30,000 faith institutions and nonprofits.

Floor outcome and amendment votes: Polsky's late amendment to bar political activity while on duty failed on a voice vote and later by roll call (13 yeas, 23 nays). The underlying bill was adopted by roll call, 27 yeas, 9 nays.

What the bill does: SB 820 creates a statutory Office of Faith and Community, defines the office's purpose, codifies the Faith and Community Advisory Council and assigns a liaison. Supporters stressed the office's role connecting volunteers and nonprofits to state resources and said the bill does not create direct state grants; opponents argued it required stronger nondiscrimination and anti-political-activity language.

Notable speakers: Senator Yarbrough (sponsor); Senator Polsky (late amendment sponsor); Senator Pizzo (floor leader); Senators Smith, Berman and Gates (debating the amendment); several senators asked about council composition and the office's practices.

Next steps: With the Senate's passage, the bill proceeds to the House if the House has not already passed companion language, or to reconcile differences in conference. Supporters asked the administration to ensure the office continues outreach while avoiding partisan uses of government communications.

Reporting note: Floor debate included specific references to email messages and to prior legal challenges; the Senate considered and rejected an amendment that would have placed an explicit duty-time prohibition in statute.