The FHC Meeting yesterday in Tallahassee was very informative and, I believe, successful in terms of demonstrating the concern that Floridians have over Governor Bush's proposed budget and its effect on Florida's historic preservation program. The meeting had to be moved from Room 307 to the auditorium on the 1st floor of the RA Gray building because of the large number of people who attended. Anna Estes, Legislative Analyst, Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability, and Teresa Tinker, Policy Coordinator, Growth Management and Strategic Policy Unit, Office of the Governor, presented the administration's justifications for restructuring the DHR. John Phelps, Clerk of the House of Representatives, provided information on how the proposed merger and restructuring of the Department of State and Department of Community Affairs would occur. John Daniels, President of the Florida Association of Museums, Frank Schiraldi, Administrator of the Tampa Preservation Office of DHR, Caroline Tharpe, Executive Director of the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation, Robert Austin, President of the Florida Archaeological Council, Marion Almy, President of Archaeological Consultants, Inc., and Ken Hardin, President of Janus Research delivered prepared statements opposing the proposed budget and reorganization. Marion's statements focused on the potential effect of the proposed changes on the cultural resource management industry while Ken entered into the public record letters from the Seminole and Miccosukee tribes and read a statement from the Miccosukee that supported the DHR and its efforts to protect Native American cultural sites. Then members of the audience were allowed to comment. About 20 people gave brief comments. Those who spoke included Ross Morrell, former Director of the DHR, Roy Hunt, Special Advisor for International Affairs, Florida Department of State, Gloria Colvin, Librarian at Florida State University, Anne Stokes, President of Southeastern Archaeological Research, Inc., and Michael Faught, Professor of Anthropology, Florida State University.

While each speaker focused on issues specific to his/her area of concern (e.g., library, museum, grants, compliance review, etc.) all were unanimous in condemning the Governor's proposal to eliminate programs and positions and to divide the DHR's various functions among several different agencies. Essentially, the consensus was that the DHR performs its various functions extremely well and that there is no need to "fix" a system that isn't broken.

After public comment, the Commission drafted wording for a "white paper" that will be delivered to the Governor. The draft stated that the Commission was opposed to the break-up of DHR among various agencies and recommended further study to determine how the Governor could achieve cost efficiency without destroying a historic preservation program that is one of the best in the nation. The final version should be made public within the next day or so.

While the Commission's recommendation to the Governor represents an important statement in support of the DHR, the battle is not over. The next week or so will be crucial, as the legislative session will begin during the first week of March. It is critical that each of us write our representatives and the members of the House and Senate committees that are considering this issue and urge them to reject the Governor's proposal. Letters to the editors of your local papers also will help in this cause. We need to keep the pressure on and make our representatives understand that preserving our history is important.