JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The VyStar Tower in downtown Jacksonville was more than a backdrop, but an example of credit unions Gov. Ron DeSantis believes will thrive under his new bill.
House Bill 989 will stand up for Florida Credit Unions over big-name banks, DeSantis said. Allowing credit unions to host seven percent of the total funds held in the state treasury and seven percent of public deposits of any state university.
Capping credit unions from holding public deposits of more than 10 percent of the total institution's assets.
DeSantis says this puts public funds in a safe place while protecting customers from what he calls financial discrimination where accounts are canceled or restricted through complaints or investigations that may be politically charged.
Gary Ramey, CEO of Liberty Ammunition, shared his experience of getting denied by credit card processors and accounting software because of the category of his business.
Florida's Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis explained how one in three Floridians belong to state credit unions. Which is contributing to what Patronis says is "the best fiscal health for the state of Florida."
In addition, this bill puts public funds in a safe place, while looking out for the customers who may interact with big-name banks with a different kind of agenda.
The governor signed a second bill to ban DEI training from teachers, keeping lesson plans to the state standard, without including an ideological agenda.
House Bill 1291 focuses on teacher preparation programs, ensuring instructors are not creating unbiased lesson plans and "teaching distorted versions of significant historical events," according to the Governor.
"People and parents want to send their kids to school knowing they're getting an education. I don't think they're interested in indoctrination. I don't think their parents care if a teacher has a certain political cause that they care about or a political ideology," explained DeSantis.
Isabelle Sala, a teacher at Cornerstone Academy, added how this bill is "making educators confident that through training they are teaching historically accurate topics."
Both bills are set to go into effect on July 1.