A new governor, a legislative body that with overwhelming majorities had twice already passed alimony reform legislation, and a committed team that had the experience of pushing through a bill all the way to the prior Governor's desk.
And yet, it did not pass.
This year.
The reality is that changing the status quo, particularly where it concerns people's income - and I'm referring to both alimony recipients but almost more importantly, family lawyers - is an uphill fight.
Hearing your stories throughout the past months, you confirmed alimony reformers are a resilient lot. And we have the conviction that permanent alimony is fundamentally unfair, anachronistic, and ripe for change. We are in a struggle to have our plight, with which broader society, most U.S. states, the U.S. Constitution (13
th Amendment) and a large majority of our fellow citizens agree, be reflected in the laws of this state which is undoubtedly and otherwise a great place to live.
So, our only choice is to try again in 2020. Going forward, and with the benefit of a full-year of preparatory work, we expect to do the following:
1) Create a media campaign that relies on spreading additional awareness of the situation of alimony payors, the states that have already reformed alimony, the fairness of our proposal to change prospective alimony payments upon retirement or after paying for 50% of the duration of the marriage.
2) Marshall the commitment from legislative leaders and sponsors to move our proposed bill through committees.
3) Obtain the engagement of more of our members to participate actively.
For us to succeed, we will need the following from you:
A) A commitment of your time:
- To visit legislators; in person, with a pre-arranged appointment, a copy of our talking points presentation and, most important, your story. When you're done, send a thank-you note and make a campaign contribution, even a token amount, to drive home the point how important this is to you.
- If you know anyone in the Florida media, work with our Debbie Leff-Kelapire to get our mission into the realm of public opinion.
- Become part of our team by helping to coordinate legislative outreach. Send me a note at michelbuhler@ymail.com to get involved.
B) A commitment of your treasure:
- Commit to contribute up to one-month's alimony to this effort spread out over the next twelve months. We will again need money to hire a lobbyist, fly team members and alimony payors to Tallahassee, and engage media. We will also ask you to earmark some of your contribution to the campaigns of influential legislators. In our next issue we will provide you with more specifics.
C) A commitment to represent our cause in a way that will garner goodwill and support; especially from legislators. This means:
- Refrain from any slandering both your alimony recipient and any legislators on social media. Keep your message focused on your situation in a way that will create sympathy and not antagonism.
- When reaching out to legislators - whether in person, on the phone, or by mail - be respectful and courteous. To the extent we act with dignity, we shall surely set ourselves apart from our antagonists.
You have our team's commitment that we will continue to push to end permanent alimony for existing payors, make the laws clearer so as to eliminate the opportunity to sow fear and antagonism in an adversarial court system within which emotionally and financially vulnerable divorcees find themselves, and provide both alimony recipients and payors the freedom to live happy and productive lives. Come join us!
