Coronavirus: Jacksonville councilman introduces 'My Town Buys American’ legislation

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — There is a new push to require the city of Jacksonville to buy U.S. made products whenever possible, even if it’s more expensive.

It’s part of the “My Town Buys American” bill that City Councilman Rory Diamond filed Thursday; he represents the beaches.

The District 13 councilman made the announcement via Zoom.

Commissioners from Clay, Nassau and St. Johns counties also plan to introduce similar legislation.

“Collectively, Northeast Florida will be off the sidelines and into the game to buy American and it just makes sense,” Diamond said.

The six-page proposal said the city procurement department would be required to “ … create a domestic preference for goods and materials that are manufactured, assembled or produced in the United States.”

Even if it means paying more.

“If you have two similar products and ones made in America and one’s made, for example, in China, you should buy the American [product] and we’re even willing to pay 5% more. That’s what the legislation says,” Diamond said.

Diamond said almost no other local governments have such a law.

His hope is to convince more county and city governments to adopt similar measures.

“We’re giving them sample legislation so we could see this happen across the 67 counties of Florida,” said Diamond.

As unemployment skyrockets, especially in areas that depend on tourism like Diamond’s district, he believes keeping taxpayer money in the U.S. is the key to bouncing back.

Diamond’s team is filing the proposal seven weeks before it goes to the general city council, so the council members will have plenty of time to discuss and debate it in committee.

Action News Jax will keep you posted on whether the bill gets approved.

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