House sanctuary bill passes amid Trump furor

TALLAHASSEE — President Donald Trump’s reported vulgar remarks dominated the debate as the Florida House passed a bill Friday to ban sanctuary cities along with a flurry of other measures championed by their chamber’s leader.

The sanctuary bill, HB 9, allows the state to impose fines of up to $5,000 on city council members who approve sanctuary policies or refuse to cooperate with federal immigration officials. It also eliminates state grant money for cities in violation of the law for five years.

It passed on a 71-35 party line vote — with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed, but also with 10 members absent and not voting.

Democrats argued the bill is unconstitutional, unworkable and would lead to racial profiling.

During the debate, Trump’s purported comment that countries like El Salvador, Haiti and some African nations are “shitholes” came up time after time.

“[Trump’s] words reflect an attitude towards countries with black and brown populations that is simply racist,” said Rep. Sean Shaw, D-Tampa.

Republicans defended the bill as simply upholding the rule of law but also condemned Trump’s comments.

“I do not share those sentiments. I do not support them, they are out of bounds,” said Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Naples. “This bill is about following federal immigration law, not the whims of a president. Presidents come and go, politicians come and go ... the one thing that must remain consistent is the rule of law.”

The measure is a top priority of House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’Lakes, who is considering a run for governor.

It was one of more than a dozen major bills the House passed Friday, signaling he will make good on his promise to pass “transformational” legislation this year.

The House also passed bills to scrap Florida’s no-fault car insurance laws, ban lawmakers from lobbying after they leave office for six years, deregulate a host of professions, impose restrictions on publicly-financed sports stadium deals, eliminate red light cameras and require lobbyists to register to influence local governments.

Many of those bills have been proposed previously only to die in the more moderate Senate, and they could fail to pass again in that chamber this year. The sanctuary cities ban has passed the House three times in past years but it’s never come up for discussion in the Senate.

Democrats suspect Corcoran is trying to build up his conservative credentials ahead of a crowded GOP primary with Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam and U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis.

“[The sanctuary bill] is pounds and pounds of red meat for an alt-right primary,” said Rep. Evan Jenne, D-Dania Beach. “That’s what this is.”

Rep. Bob Cortes, R-Altamonte Springs, however, said he had no qualms about voting for the bill and was never pressured by Corcoran or House leadership. He also shrugged off arguments the bill would lead to racial profiling of Hispanics.

“What we’re doing is following the rule of law,” he said.