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The following is a list of events of the year 2022 in Florida .
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The following is a list of events of the year 2022 in Florida .
The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD), formerly the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID), is the governing jurisdiction and special taxing district for the land of Walt Disney World Resort. It includes 39.06 sq mi (101.2 km2) within Orange and Osceola counties in Florida. It acts with most of the same authority and responsibility as a county government. It includes the cities of Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, as well as unincorporated land.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the U.S. state of Florida have federal protections, but many face legal difficulties on the state level that are not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Same-sex sexual activity became legal in the state after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Lawrence v. Texas on June 26, 2003, although the state legislature has not repealed its sodomy law. Same-sex marriage has been legal in the state since January 6, 2015. Discrimination on account of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing and public accommodations is outlawed following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County. In addition, several cities and counties, comprising about 55 percent of Florida's population, have enacted anti-discrimination ordinances. These include Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Tallahassee and West Palm Beach, among others. Conversion therapy is also banned in a number of cities in the state, mainly in the Miami metropolitan area, but has been struck down by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. In September 2023, Lake Worth Beach, Florida became an official "LGBT sanctuary city" to protect and defend LGBT rights.
Ronald Dion DeSantis is an American politician serving since 2019 as the 46th governor of Florida. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Florida's 6th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2013 to 2018. DeSantis was a candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, withdrawing his candidacy in January 2024.
Anti-LGBT curriculum laws are laws approved by various U.S. states that limit the discussion of sexuality and gender identity in public schools. In theory, these laws mainly apply to sex ed courses, but they can also be applied to other parts of the school curriculum as well as to extracurricular activities such as sports and organizations such as gay–straight alliances. In July 2022, a wave of anti-LGBT curriculum resurgence saw ten such laws beginning to take effect in six different states. Some states enacting these new laws appear to have mirrored similar laws from other states.
Anna Vishkaee Eskamani is an American politician who is a member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 42nd district in Orange County, which encompasses parts of Orlando along with Maitland, Winter Park, Eatonville, Edgewood, and Belle Isle. She is the first Iranian American elected to any public office in Florida.
Randy Fine is an American Republican politician, activist, and former gambling industry executive who was first elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2016. His district covers southern Brevard County.
On March 1, 2020, the U.S. state of Florida officially reported its first two COVID-19 cases in Manatee and Hillsborough counties. There is evidence, however, that community spread of COVID-19 first began in Florida much earlier, perhaps as early as the first week of January, with as many as 171 people in Florida who had shown symptoms now identified with COVID-19, prior to receiving confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By March 11, the CDC saw evidence to conclude that community spread of the virus had occurred within the state.
The political positions of Ron DeSantis have been recorded from his 2012 election to the United States House of Representatives and his tenure as Representative, the 2016 United States Senate election in Florida, and during his tenure as governor of Florida. DeSantis is considered a conservative Republican.
Throughout the history of the United States, various topics have been censored and banned in education, including teaching about evolution, racism, sexism, sex education, and LGBTQ+ topics. Due to the federal system of the country being highly decentralized, states are delegated with much of the responsibility for administering public education, and it is often governments of the red states that have enacted such policies.
From March 2022 until June 2024, The Walt Disney Company was involved in a feud with Florida governor Ron DeSantis and the state's Republican Party over Florida's Parental Rights in Education Act, commonly known as the "Don't Say Gay" bill. While initially a donor to some of the politicians who voted in favor of the Act, after its passage Disney spoke out against the bill and called for it to be repealed.
The Parental Rights in Education Act, commonly known as Don't Say Gay, is a Florida statute passed in 2022 that regulates public schools in Florida. The law is most notable for its controversial sections that prohibit public schools from having "classroom discussion" or giving "classroom instruction" about sexual orientation or gender identity from kindergarten through third grade or in any manner deemed to be against state standards in all grades; prohibits public schools from adopting procedures or student support forms that maintain the confidentiality of a disclosure by a student, including of the gender identity or sexual orientation of a student, from parents; and requires public schools to bear all the costs of all lawsuits filed by aggrieved parents.
The Reedy Creek Improvement Act, otherwise known as House Bill No. 486, was a law introduced and passed in the U.S. state of Florida in 1967 establishing the area surrounding the Walt Disney World Resort as its own county governmental authority, which granted it the same authority and responsibilities as a county government.
On September 14, 2022, Florida governor Ron DeSantis sent approximately 50 primarily Venezuelan asylum seekers by air from San Antonio, Texas, to the island of Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts. The incident and ones like it have caused a partisan divide across the US. President Joe Biden and other Democrats called it "a political stunt and inhumane", while Republicans such as Mitch McConnell "thought it was a good idea".
The Stop the Sexualization of Children Act was United States federal legislation introduced in the 117th Congress which would prohibit all federally-funded institutions from using such funds to instruct children on "sexually-orientated" materials. Considered to be a national version of the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act, likewise to the Florida legislation, it has been described as the national Don't Say Gay bill by opponents and commentators. The bill was introduced by Republican Representative Mike Johnson of Louisiana, and 32 additional Republican members of Congress cosponsored the bill.
The Individual Freedom Act, commonly known as the Stop Wrongs to Our Kids and EmployeesAct and abbreviated to the Stop WOKE Act, is a Florida state law which regulates the content of instruction and training in schools and workplaces. Among other provisions, it prohibits instruction that individuals share responsibility for others' past actions by virtue of their race, sex or national origin. After passing both chambers of the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature along party lines, it was signed by Governor Ron DeSantis on April 22, 2022, and entered into effect July 1 the same year.
The Courage to Be Free: Florida's Blueprint for America's Revival is a non-fiction book authored by Florida governor Ron DeSantis and published by HarperCollins in 2023. A self-described memoir, The Courage to Be Free is DeSantis's second book, following Dreams from Our Founding Fathers: First Principles in the Age of Obama (2011). The Courage to be Free outlines DeSantis's political philosophy and positions.
Florida Senate Bill 266, also commonly known by its Florida House of Representatives counterpart House Bill 999, is Florida legislation relating to public universities within the state. Under the legislation, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and certain college majors relating to DEI would be eliminated or heavily restricted; the legislation phrases such courses as being based on "unproven, theoretical, or exploratory content". The legislation would prohibit state universities from including DEI and political identity filters within higher education hiring processes, and bans the usage of critical race theory in hiring. The law was filed in the Florida House of Representatives on February 21, 2023, by Republican representative Alex Andrade, while a Florida Senate version was filed seven days later by Republican state senator Erin Grall. The senate version of the legislation, which was noted as less intense in its requirements than the house version, ultimately passed and was signed by governor Ron DeSantis, concurrently with the similar Florida House Bill 931, on May 15, 2023. SB 266 took effect on July 1, 2023.
The Parental Rights Over the Education and Care of Their Kids Act is pending United States legislation introduced in both the House of Representatives and Senate of the 118th congress. Sponsored by Republican representative Tim Walberg and senators Rick Scott of Florida and Tim Scott of South Carolina and originating in the 117th congress, the bill is similar to and viewed of as a national version of the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act, itself known by its opponents as the Don't Say Gay bill.
Disney v. DeSantis was a lawsuit brought against Florida governor Ron DeSantis by the Parks, Experiences and Products division of The Walt Disney Company in 2023 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida. The plaintiff claims that DeSantis, with Florida Department of Economic Opportunity acting secretary Meredith Ivey and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board, violated the company's First Amendment rights by using government power to exact political retaliation.
Ron DeSantis has served as the 46th governor of Florida since January 8, 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he narrowly defeated Democratic challenger Andrew Gillum in the 2018 Florida gubernatorial election. As governor, DeSantis resisted taking many of the measures to slow the spread of COVID-19 that various other state governments implemented, such as face-mask mandates, stay-at-home orders, and vaccination requirements. During the pandemic, Florida experienced above-average economic growth. DeSantis cut state-government spending, which, combined with federal stimulus payments and high sales-tax revenue, led to the largest budget surplus in Florida history. He engaged in recovery efforts after Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Nicole, and oversaw the passage of the controversial Parental Rights in Education Act. He was reelected in a landslide in the 2022 Florida gubernatorial election; his 19.4% margin of victory over Charlie Crist was the state's largest in 40 years. He has generally governed as a conservative.