Not so fast: Miami-Dade commissioner blocks last-minute try for a ‘Kindness Day’

In Miami-Dade County government, celebrating kind acts can be hard.

On Tuesday, Commissioner René Garcia used a parliamentary privilege to block legislation that appeared to lack controversy: Declaring Feb. 17 “Random Acts of Kindness Day in Miami-Dade County.”

The problem? The resolution by Chairman Jose “Pepe” Diaz got added to the agenda within four business days of Tuesday’s meeting, making it a late item under the board’s rules. Any commissioner can invoke “four-day rule” privileges and delay a vote on a late item until the next regular meeting.

“I’m for process and transparency,” Garcia said in an interview. “There’s no reason why it has to be late.”

A former state senator and chairman of Miami-Dade’s Republican Party, Garcia wants to eliminate random late items from the board’s plate.

In December, commissioners voted down a Garcia proposal requiring written explanations for late filings before allowing them on board agendas.

Garcia said he would have let Diaz’s resolution proceed if there had been justification for the late addition to the agenda. “You know, it’s not a bad idea,” he said of Miami-Dade joining other jurisdictions around the country declaring a Kindness Day on Feb. 17. “If it’s late, tell me why it’s late.”

A commission committee forwarded Diaz’s resolution to the full board on Thursday, within the “four-day” window making an item late. Nobody else objected when the resolution came up for Tuesday’s vote, and several members checked to make sure the item Garcia was blocking was tied to kind acts.

“We just four-day ruled Random Acts of Kindness Day,” said Oliver Gilbert, the commission’s vice-chairman. Commissioner Raquel Regalado told Garcia: “I appreciate your irony.”