To: Governor Ron DeSantis

Tell Governor Rick Scott to VETO HB 655

This campaign has ended.

The Florida Legislature has denied access to health insurance to more than one million uninsured Floridians. What's worse, they have sent HB 655 to you to sign into law. This bill would strip local communities of the right to even pass earned sick-time policies for working families. This could have serious impacts on Florida's service-driven economy, not to mention the health and well-being of our families. We urge you to protect Florida's families by vetoing HB 655.

With the absence of expanded health care coverage, Florida is at a risk. Right now, Florida's hardworking families cannot afford to get sick because more than a million have been denied access to health care coverage and none of them will have Earned Sick Time protections. But you can change this and help our families by vetoing HB 655.

In a recent Sun-Sentinel editorial you stood up for local control, stating, "I think as much as possible, you ought to push the decision down to the local level, as much as you can, just like I don't like the federal government to do a lot of mandates."

You vetoed the alimony bill citing concern over the retro-activeness of signing a bill into law that interferes with current legal rulings. There is a referendum slated for the August 2014 ballot in Orange County that will let voters decide if they want an Earned Sick Time ordinance in their county charter. If you sign HB 655 into law it would render moot this court ordered election in Orange County. Even though the ordinance will be on the ballot, voters will not have their vote counted when it comes to making decisions at the local level.

At the forefront of both of these bills as well as some of your top priorities like teacher pay raises, are women. In addition to threatening alimony reform, female constituents in Florida face higher medical risks and a greater potential to be fired for getting sick and having to miss work. So we ask that along with fighting for pay raises for teachers, a largely female-driven profession, you stand up for all working women and families across the state.

Governor, we urge you to protect voters, women, families and all hardworking middle class Floridians by vetoing HB 655. With the absence of expanded health care coverage, we are all at risk. Right now, over one million Floridians cannot afford to get sick because they will not have access to health care coverage and could get fired because of lack of proper health care. But you can can change this and help our families by vetoing HB 655.

Why is this important?

VETO HB 655. Right now, Florida's hardworking families cannot afford to get sick because more than a million have been denied access to health care coverage and none of them will have Earned Sick Time protections. This could have serious impacts on Florida's service-driven economy, not to mention the health and well-being of our families. But you can change this and protect Florida's families by vetoing HB 655.