Board of County Commissioners Office of Community Advocacy Commission for Women 111 NW Ist Street + Suite 1034 Miami, Florida 33128-1994 T 305-375-4967 F 305-375-5715, ww miamidade gov/advocacy/women-board-home.asp January 22, 2018 Honorable Chairman and Members Miami-Dade County Legislative Delegation Dear Chairman McGhee and Members of the Miami-Dade County Legislative Delegation: As you address the important issues facing the residents of Florida in the current legislative session, the Miami-Dade County Commission for Women would like to take this opportunity to express our position on several pending bills of particular importance to Florida’s women and girls. These are the bills the Commission for Women supports and urges you to enact: Human Trafficking — SB 96 ‘One of many bills that address the scourge of human trafficking through a variety of ways, SB 96 is a proposal to include information regarding the dangers and signs of human trafficking in the health education curriculum in public schools. This ‘measure would be another positive step to reduce the number of victims. National Statuary Hall - HCR 73/SCR 184 and CS/HB 139/SB 472 Making women visible matters and the Commission for Women continues to support the effort to update Florida’ statues in National Statuary Hall. To that end, these bills seek to replace the statue of Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith with a statue of Mary McLeon Bethune, a world- renowned educator. Mary McLeod Bethune was one of the three persons recommended by the Great Floridians Ad Hoc Committee and would be an outstanding representative of Florida in the U.S. Capitol. Currently, only nine of the 100 statues in the collection are of women, and by passing these bills, Florida would also become the first state to select an African-American to represent it in National Statuary Hall. Helen Gordon Davis Fair Pay Protection Act — HB 393/SB 594 These bills seek to address the problem of wage inequities between men and ‘women in a comprehensive manner. Among other things, the bills require the same wages for substantially the same work, prohibit employers from taking adverse actions against employees who discuss their wages, and prohibit employers from requiring job applicants to disclose prior wages.Office of the Chair Board of County Commissioners Office of Community Advocacy ‘Commission for Women 111 NW Ist Street + Suite 1034 Miami, Florida 33128-1994 ‘T 305-375-4967 F 305-375-5715 ‘www.miamidade.gov/advocacy/women-board-home.asp Prohibition of Child Marriage — CS/SB 140 and HB 335/SB 208 These bills would prohibit marriage for anyone under the age of 18. If passed, girls would be protected from forced marriages to men who may have raped them or abused them. Many times these child marriages are used to cover up a crime, and gitls are forced into a life that they did not choose. Sales tax exemption for diapers and incontinence products ~ HB 163/SB 56 ‘These bills would exempt the sale of diapers and incontinence products from the sales and use tax. Under Florida law, many products are deemed necessities and exempted from the sales tax, Last year the Legislature ‘exempted feminine hygiene products from the sales tax and, likewise, should do so this year for these products that are important to good health. Ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) ~ HCR 1161/SCR 264 ‘These resolutions would put Florida on record in support of the ERA to the Constitution. These resolutions have received bipartisan support in the past with Republican and Democratic co-sponsors. Congress has authority to lift the ERA ratification deadline so that should not be a concern. Moreover, voters approved a similar guarantee of equality between men and women in the Florida Constitution in 1998, so these resolutions are consistent with the will of the people of Florida. Nevada became the 36" state to ratify the ERA last year and Florida should be part of the renewed push for full equality for ‘men and women, ‘The Commission for Women thanks you for reviewing our concerns and suggestions. We appreciate your service, and we know that itis not an easy task to enact legislation that impacts millions of people in a state as diverse as Florida, We wish you a successful session and thank you for your kind consideration of this matter. Sincerely, ik S dda Marie P. Woodson Chairwoman Miami-Dade County Commission for Women,