By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON, April 22 (Reuters) – Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Wednesday that prohibits local governments in his state from promoting or funding diversity initiatives, claiming that such programs discriminated against groups like white men.
Republican state leaders and U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration have rallied against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices.
Civil rights advocates say DEI practices help address historic inequities for marginalized groups like women, the LGBT community and racial and ethnic minorities.
“I would think with DEI the disfavored groups, number one obviously, would be white males and I think they’ve been discriminated against,” DeSantis said on Wednesday.
The bill prohibits local governments from establishing or maintaining DEI offices or programs, DeSantis’ office said.
The legislation also requires grant recipients to certify that public funds will not be used to advance DEI and provides enforcement mechanisms, including penalties for officials who violate the law, it added.
Republicans, casting diversity programs as anti-merit and discriminatory against groups like white people and men, have cracked down on DEI at the state and federal levels.
Trump has signed executive orders directing the dismantling of DEI policies at federal agencies and in the private sector, including in government contractors and subcontractors.
Trump has also attempted to freeze federal funding for universities over DEI.
DEI practices, among others, include training on combating discrimination, addressing pay inequity along gender or racial lines and broadening recruitment and access for underrepresented ethnic groups.
DeSantis also signed a bill prohibiting initiatives related to climate change. That law will prevent new taxes, fees and penalties tied to carbon emissions, his office said.
Rights advocates have criticized Republicans for cracking down on DEI, climate initiatives, transgender rights and pro-Palestinian protests against U.S. ally Israel’s assault on Gaza.
Civil rights groups say such steps violate free speech and due process. Republicans cast their actions as being against “woke,” “far-left” and “anti-American” ideologies.
Earlier this month, DeSantis signed into law a measure that gave him and other state officials the power to designate groups as “terrorist organizations.”
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus)
