Do No Harm Action has been working the halls of the Florida legislature, and that effort is paying off.
Amended language in HB 5003, the Sunshine State’s 2026-2027 General Appropriations Act, makes clear that institutions using budgeted funds may not do so to advance the principles of “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.” (See pages 172-173.)
Specifically, the amended language asserts that “the use of state funds must be consistent with the … principles of individual freedom.”
Among these specified principles are that “[n]o person is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive … solely by virtue of his or her race or sex”; that “[n]o race is inherently superior to another race”; and that “[n]o person should be discriminated against … solely or partly on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, disability, or sex.”
The new language further insists that state funds may not be used to spread the false gospel of collective guilt (over, e.g., slavery), nor may they be put to work in service of the argument that merit-based systems are inherently racist.
This is excellent language, sorely needed. Indeed, liberals would have greeted it rapturously a generation ago, before DEI and Critical Race Theory poisoned the national discourse.
The Florida legislature will be voting on the amended budget tomorrow. Should it pass, the bill will move to the desk of Governor Ron DeSantis.
Do No Harm Action welcomes this development and encourages other states to look to Florida’s work as a model. The stakes are high.