TALLAHASSEE — Florida Democrats are banking on the 50th anniversary of the federal Civil Rights Act to breathe new life into an array of roadblocked social issues in the Capitol, dealing with immigrant children, gays, felons and even pregnant women.

Florida Democrats are touting a half-dozen bills, two of which aim to extend job and benefit protections to gay and transgender men and women and to create a statewide domestic-partnership registry.

But the proposals go beyond issues affecting gays:

•SB 300 would allow nonresident immigrant children to qualify for in-state tuition if they’ve graduated from a Florida high school or received a GED and plan to file for legal residency when eligible.

•SB 234 would ban businesses from requiring job applicants to disclose whether they have a criminal record, except where the disclosure is required by law.

Click here for the story in the Orlando Sentinel.

Florida Democrats to push civil-rights bills this year – Orlando Sentinel
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