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Statement by Chair Taddeo and Rep. Logan on Passage of the Dreamers Tuition Bill

After years of stalling, Rick Scott and the Republican legislature have finally embraced the Democratic position of extending in-state tuition to Florida’s undocumented students. Rick Scott now insists he’s always supported such a measure — a claim that runs contrary to the Governor’s failed record with the Hispanic community. Rick Scott’s eleventh-hour support for in-state tuition is obviously nothing more than political pandering to cover up his record and anti-Hispanic policies. 

“First and foremost, the big winners today are Floridians and the DREAMers who will finally be able to get an affordable higher education in the state of Florida. But does this one act erase three years of Scott’s anti-Hispanic policies? Of course not,” said FDP Vice Chair Annette Taddeo-Goldstein. “Last year we were second-class citizens, and now that it’s an election year he  has decided to support the in-state tuition bill. Was Scott supporting Dreamers when he vetoed just last year their ability to get drivers licenses? Was he supporting Hispanics by refusing to lift a finger to expand access to affordable health care? Today, we celebrate that this critical legislation has finally passed. But in November, Hispanic voters will remember Rick Scott’s record — and where his heart really lies.”   

“This is a good bill, and I’m proud to be a Democrat, because Democrats provided so many of the votes to let this bill pass the House and the Senate,” said former Florida Rep. Ana Rivas Logan. “But if the Governor supported this bill all along, as he now wants us to believe, why did he only pick up the phone to call legislative leaders last week? Unfortunately for Rick Scott, Florida’s Hispanic community will see his last minute support for what it is: a hollow re-election gimmick. One bill doesn’t change three years of overtly hurtful treatment of Florida’s Hispanic community.” 

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