Miami Herald: Governor says Florida cares about census process after all. Nuñez to lead committee.

TALLAHASSEE — Months after saying the state would not “have a role” in promoting the 2020 census, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis reversed himself and announced Monday the state would help after all.

Counting every living American is a massive effort, and certain populations — especially renters and people of color — risk not getting counted. The configuration of congressional and state legislative districts, as well as billions of dollars in grant funding for things like school lunches, rely on decennial census data. Officials fret about counting as many people as possible. …

The governor’s announcement doesn’t give state government much time to enter the census process. Nearly every county already has a local census committee.

“The Legislature should have done some funding for this in 2017, 2018, 2019. But there’s no time now,” said Liza McClenaghan, state chair of Common Cause Florida, a voter advocacy group.