Above photo: Rep. Ben Diamond, D- St. Petersburg, (right) issued an amendment to House Bill 423 calling for more public input and studies on how the bill would affect the USF System and St. Petersburg. Courtesy of Ben Diamond
By Jeffrey Waitkevich
Rumors have swirled that amendments to House Bill 423 are on the way, and this morning the seal was broken.
Rep. Ben Diamond, D-St. Petersburg, filed an amendment to the bill that would consolidate accreditation between USF Tampa, USF St. Petersburg and USF Sarasota-Manatee.
According to a press release from Diamond’s legislative assistant, the amendment “calls for additional public input and study of the ramifications of accreditation consolidation of the campuses – before the Legislature directs any change to the separate accreditation of USF St. Petersburg or USF Sarasota-Manatee.”
Diamond has advocated for a study committee composed of representatives from across the USF System as well as business and community leaders from St. Petersburg, Tampa and Sarasota.
Diamond issued a statement today saying, “There was no public discussion of this proposal in our community prior to the start of the 2018 legislative session, and no study done of the ramifications of this proposal … I believe there needs to be more opportunity for community input and study of the implications of this proposal before the Legislature directs changes to the separate accreditation of USF St. Pete.”
