Florida's recap – Highlights from around the state - May 3rd
Bottom Line: Your daily recap of the some of the notable developments from Florida’s session and news from around the state...
- “Sanctuary Cities” reform, Known as the, Rule of Law Adherence Act, did pass the full legislature on Thursday. The final version calls for:
Requires law enforcement to obtain immigration status for anyone arrested
Requires that they yield to appropriate jurisdiction (federal authorities for undocumented individuals)
Any undocumented individual cooperating with an ongoing investigation would be excluded from being handed over to federal authorities indefinitely
All documentation obtained during the detainment of an illegal immigrant would have to be retained for a minimum of ten years
A late change that occurred removed penalties for local officials who don’t fully comply
Governor DeSantis had this to say:
“I thank the Florida Legislature for presenting me with a bill that upholds the rule of law and addresses sanctuary cities and counties in Florida.We are a stronger state when we protect our residents, foster safe communities and respect the work of law enforcement.”
- The full Legislature passed a bill requiring power utilities to create plans to bury all power lines and harden the power grid within 10 years. The work statewide would then have to be completed within an additional 20 years
- The Miami-Dade needle exchange program has passed the full Legislature and goes to Governor DeSantis to sign. The program would become available to every county that opts in
- Framework for the restoration of felon voting rights was agreed to and will be voted on today. The agreement mandates that financial restitution must be accounted for but grants victims, judges' opportunities to waive those costs and/or have them converted to community service hours if one lacks the ability to directly pay them off