This month marks the halfway point for Gov. Rick Scott’s first term in office. He has about another two years until he’s on the ballot for re-election.
This milestone also marks year two for a busy group that has tasked itself with fighting many of Scott’s policy decisions: the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida (ACLU).
So far, the group has sued the governor 11 times since he took office.
The ACLU has been battling with Scott over issues ranging from drug testing to voting rights in that time. A number of the lawsuits launched by the group have stalled many of Scott’s policy agendas.
Last year, the ACLU filed a suit to stop implementation of a law that required welfare recipients to take a drug test before receiving benefits.
This week the ACLU released a report laying out every single one of the 11 lawsuits.
Randall Marshal, the ACLU’s legal director, said in a telephone press conference on Thursday that the past two years have been the busiest he’s seen.
“The entire focus of the ACLU over the past two years has changed substantially to step up and meet the civil liberties concerns that have been raised,” Marshall says.
These battles have racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees for the state over the past two years as well.
Four of the ACLU’s lawsuits against the governor are still awaiting a ruling from an appeals court.
