FYI Miami: February 1, 2024

Below are some of the FYIs in this week’s edition. The entire content of this week’s FYIs and Insider sections is available by subscription only. To subscribe click here.

HOW RAPID THE TRANSIT?: The group overseeing use of the county transportation tax may vote to send operating plans for a 20-mile South Dade Bus Rapid Transit system back to the drawing board. The Citizens’ Independent Transportation Trust was to vote this week on urging the county transportation depart ment to revise operating plans for the bus corridor “to include local, limited and express BRT routes and to allow all BRT buses to employ traffic signal preemption for all BRT bus routes in both directions throughout the service day every day of the week, in keeping with its commitment to provide true Gold Standard BRT service.” Last June the trust learned that plans for Gold Standard buses had been limited to just part of the day in one direction at a time. Rollout of BRT has been delayed from its original 2022 planned start. 

REDISTRICTING RESOLUTION: The Miami City Commission authorizing the city attorney on Jan. 25 to start settlement talks with plaintiffs of a redistricting lawsuit. The suit was filed in December 2022 by local advocacy groups including Engage Miami, Grove Rights and Community Equity (GRACE) and the South Dade and Miami-Dade NAACP branches, which are represented by the ACLU of Florida. It alleges the city’s voting map was gerrymandered to maintain one Black district, one white and three Hispanic districts. Commissioner Damian Pardo, who introduced the resolution, said the city should exhaust all options to settle the suit and avoid accruing significant legal costs if the case goes to trial. The city attorney is to hold confidential negotiations with the plaintiffs and bring back proposed settlements for commission approval.

NO DEBATE LIMIT: After deliberation, the Miami City Commission decided not to limit the length of debates and discussions by its members to five minutes. While the resolution was intended to streamline meetings, some commissioners expressed concern that it would interfere with creating legislation that supports the community, which sometimes requires lengthy conversations. Instead, commissioners agreed that respectful debate, including passionate discussions, is important to creating sound policy. If a member goes off-topic or strays too far from the agenda, the chairperson can redirect the conversation.

ID CARDS DEBATED: A Florida Senate committee has approved a bill that would prevent cities and counties from accepting identification cards issued to undocumented immigrants. The issue focuses on what are known as “community” identification cards that have been issued in some areas to undocumented immigrants and other people.