Sunshine Sentinel

ORLANDO - Although the legislature ended its session in March, a state's rights organization is calling on Floridians to stay engaged with their local and state government during the COVID-19 crisis.

“A disadvantage in the state of Florida is that we don’t have year-round legislative sessions. The Florida legislature has short sessions,” said Richard Simo, Florida state director of the Convention of States (COS) project, a non-profit group calling for a nationwide conference under Article V of the U.S. Constitution. 

That’s why it’s all the more important, according to Simo, to send emails, letters and make phone calls to lawmakers whether in or out of session.

“It’s part of self-governance to stay engaged and voice your concerns,” Simo told the Sunshine Sentinel. “The reason we are in this situation with the government is because people have not been engaged for decades. We have allowed government officials to get away with ruling every aspect of our lives. Most recently, they are using the coronavirus to enhance their power.”

It’s been 33 days since Gov. Ron DeSantis issued Executive Order 20-52 on March 9, proclaiming a State of Emergency due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Since then, the Department of Health has confirmed 18,445 cases and 446 deaths as of April 11 at 5:44 pm, according to the Department of Health website.

“The mood here is as good as it can be considering that our state and local governments are trying to keep people occupied with panic as a distraction,” said Simo who lives outside of Orlando.

Simo is among 121,000 Florida COS members who feel the state legislature relies too much on what the governor is doing instead of taking a stand for the people.

“We get no feedback from them,” Simo said in an interview. “They are silently in the background."

Overall, COS, which has 1.5 million followers nationwide, is displeased with federal legislators, according to Simo. As a result, the group has been working towards addressing term limits on federal government officials, among other issues, at a national convention.

“Our goal is to pass a resolution that would take control from the legislative branch of the federal government and return it to the people of the United States,” Simo said. “The public is relying too much on the government and not on self-responsibility.”

Florida is among the 15 states whose legislatures have passed a COS resolution, but a total of 34 states need to join before action can be taken towards hosting a convention of states as outlined in Article V of the U.S. Constitution.

Other states whose legislatures have passed the resolution include Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Missouri, Texas, Utah, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Tennessee.