Vol. 72/No. 10      March 10, 2008

The act was initiated by Miami-area state representative David Rivera and passed by the legislature in May 2006. It was signed into law by then-governor John E. Bush.

The Board of Governors’ lawsuit is the second legal challenge to the act. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed suit challenging the constitutionality of the law on behalf of the Florida International University Faculty Senate and professors at several other state universities in June 2006. “The primary effect of this legislation is to deny Americans information about other parts of the world,” said Howard Simon, executive director of the Florida ACLU, in a news release.

Prominent plaintiffs in the ACLU suit include Carmen Diana Deere, director of the University of Florida’s Center for Latin American Studies, and Noel Smith, curator of Latin American and Caribbean Art at the University of South Florida.

“These professors saw this law as a restriction on their ability to meet their obligation as professors in their fields,” said Bill Edmonds, director of communications for the Board of Governors. While Edmonds said the board doesn’t completely agree with the ACLU, “We are agreeing that the court needs to look at the issue of non-state dollars.” Edmonds said the Board of Governors also “asked the court to look at the question of [whether] the legislature overstepped its authority.”

A ruling on the ACLU suit is expected in March.
 
 
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Miami: Cuban Americans demand U.S. lift travel controls  
 
 
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