A $300,000 appropriation to pay for minority law school graduates to take bar exam preparation courses has been vetoed by Gov. Charlie Crist.
The money would have reestablished part of a program that ran from 1994 until a few years ago to assist minority law students. The broader program, which the legislature stopped funding in 2002 (about the time it approved new law schools for Florida A&M and Florida International universities), paid for pre-law and law school scholarships for minorities, and then for bar exam preparation courses for minority law school graduates.
The program was part of an effort to boost the number of minority lawyers in Florida, in the wake of surveys that showed they were underrepresented in the legal community. The bar exam preparation part of the program was in response to a study that suggested minorities — frequently because of economic pressures — were less likely to sign up for the preparation courses shown to help applicants pass the bar exam.
Rep. Yolly Roberson, D-North Miami Beach, said the $300,000 appropriation was inserted into the budget during the House-Senate conference on the 2007-08 spending plan. She said the money would pay for exam preparation from the BAR/BRI exam preparation service, which pledged to provide dollar-for-dollar matching services.
“I thought it was a great program. This program was very effective,” said Roberson of the former exam preparation program. “We just have to start working on it this summer and make sure it is reinstated next year. . . .
“I’m disappointed but I’m hopeful I’ll have a chance to speak with the governor about the program (before next year).”
— Courtesy The Florida Bar News