Bill that would prevent anonymous complaints against law enforcement approved by Florida House
A proposal to require any complaint against a law enforcement officer to be signed by the person filing the complaint — thus lifting their anonymity — was approved by the Florida House Thursday, but its chances of becoming law are moot as its Senate companion has never received a committee hearing.
The bill (HB 317), sponsored by Miami-Dade Republican Tom Fabricio, has bitterly divided law enforcement in Florida. The Florida Sheriffs Association and the Florida Police Chiefs Association have both came out in opposition to the bill. But the Florida Fraternal Order of Police and Florida Police Benevolent Association support it.
In committee meetings and again on the House floor on Thursday, Fabricio emphasized that his bill does not preclude individuals from making an anonymous complaint. However, the bill says that before any interrogations of the accused officer are to commence, that officer must be informed about the identity of the individual making the complaint.
Several House Democrats expressed concerns about the legislation.
'This bill builds walls around misconduct and discourages good officers and community members from speaking up,' said Broward County Rep. Daryl Campbell. 'Under this bill, no officer can be investigated unless they receive a copy of a signed, sworn complaint. That sounds reasonable, until you remember how rare it is for whistleblowers, whether it's civilians or fellow officers, to feel safe on the record, especially when it's about someone within their own department.'
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Orlando Democratic Rep. LaVon Bracy Davis said, 'False accusations are serious, but so is unchecked power.'
'This bill doesn't protect justice, it protects silence,' she continued, adding that the Legislature last year passed measures severely restricting civilian review boards and enabling police, firefighters, and and paramedics to establish 25-foot no-go-zones around themselves while working.
'The Florida Police Chiefs Association and the Sheriffs Association both oppose this bill — that should tell us something,' said Bracy Davis. 'I don't just legislate for Tallahassee, I legislate through the lens of my district, a district representing all people, inclusive of of black, brown, and yes, blue lives. Let me clear: I back the blue, wholeheartedly, but I also back the Black and the brown.'
But Hillsborough County Republican Rep. Danny Alvarez, who in his job outside of the Legislature serves as general counsel for the Tampa Police Benevolent Association, blasted some of the Democrats' remarks.
'At some point, you have to stop attacking the 99.8 [percent] and start supporting them,' he said. 'At some point, you have to realize that the rhetoric that is absolutely anti-cop in this chamber has to be checked by your desire to have a safe and secure society with an accountability process that exists today. Cops are one of the most regulated people you have ever seen, and if you don't believe that, go be one.'
The House passed the measure, 93-16, with several Democrats joining Republicans.
However, the Senate bill (SB 516), sponsored by Hillsborough County Republican Jay Collins, was never heard in any committee of that chamber, meaning the measure is effectively dead for this session.
SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
A look at Texas' redistricting walkout and California's response, by the numbers
A walkout by Democratic legislators in Texas has ended and Republicans arranged to push a plan for redrawing the state's congressional districts through the GOP-controlled Legislature and give President Donald Trump a better political landscape. Democrats' boycott of daily sessions kept the House from passing a new map because the state constitution requires 100 of the chamber's 150 members to be present to do business. Democrats hold 62 seats. A national, partisan brawl over redistricting has now started to shift to California, where Democrats are hoping to impose a new map that offsets any advantage Trump and his fellow Republicans might gain in Texas. Here's a breakdown by the numbers. 5 more seats sought by Texas Republicans Texas is the nation's second most-populous state and has 38 congressional seats. Republicans hold 25 of them but are hoping to boost that number to 30. Their goal is to make it easier for the GOP to hold on to its slim U.S. House majority in the 2026 midterm elections, so that Democrats have little ability to thwart Trump's agenda and can't initiate investigations of his administration. 48 is the Democrats' goal for seats in California Democrats hold 43 of 52 congressional seats in California, the nation's most populous state. At Gov. Gavin Newsom's urging, they've drafted a proposal to increase the number to 48. However, the current map was drawn by an independent commission created though a voter-approved ballot initiative in 2008. To avoid legal challenges, Democrats want to put their proposal on the ballot in a special election in November. 10 years between typical map redrawings Redistricting usually happens after the once-a-decade population count by the U.S. Census Bureau and sometimes in response to a court ruling. Changes are required to keep a state's congressional districts equal in population after people move into or out of an area. Trump is pushing for a rare mid-decade redistricting in Texas, and Republicans are also considering it in other states including Missouri, Florida and Indiana. 7 seats is the size of the GOP's US House majority Republicans currently hold 219 seats in the U.S. House, seven more than the 212 held by Democrats. Four of the chamber's 435 seats are vacant, three of them previously held by Democrats. Midterm elections most often go against the president's party. In 2018, during Trump's first term, Democrats had a net gain of 41 seats to capture the House majority. 15 days before Texas Democrats returned home Most House Democrats left Texas on Aug. 3 and stayed outside the state for 15 days. They fled to blue states like Illinois, California and Massachusetts to stay out of the reach of the Texas law enforcement officers trying to bring them back. Many of the same lawmakers also walked out in 2021 for 38 days to protest GOP proposals for new voting restrictions. Once they returned, Republicans passed them into law. 24 hours a day of police escort for Democrats The Democrats who bolted for other states and returned now have an around-the-clock escort from Texas Department of Public Safety officers to make sure they return to the Capitol, House Speaker Dustin Burrows' office said. Burrows' office did not provide more details, calling it an ongoing law enforcement operation. Plainclothes officers escorted them from the chamber after Monday's session.
New York Post
16 minutes ago
- New York Post
Give up the green delusions, Albany — battery sites are too risky for New York
Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Post If Albany's left-wing politicians are good at anything, it's trampling sensible energy policies to pursue short-sighted partisan goals they'll struggle to implement. The state has banned the safe extraction of natural gas, gas hookups in new construction and gas stoves, and is striving to end the sale of gas-powered vehicles in New York. Now, state Democrats are putting residents' safety and well-being at risk with their reckless handling of Battery Energy Storage Systems. Advertisement These sprawling installations of lithium batteries have cropped up in our neighborhoods under the banner of 'green' progress. On Monday, I visited Long Island to speak with Hauppauge residents who oppose a proposed BESS site in their community. Locals have raised serious concerns about the potential for toxic emissions from the site and contamination of the Nissequogue River watershed, as well as its close proximity to residences, schools and playgrounds. Advertisement The area's volunteer fire departments lack the specialized training and resources needed to respond to lithium battery fires, which can burn for weeks and release hydrogen fluoride and other dangerous chemicals. These aren't hypothetical risks. The San Diego Gateway fire involving nearly 15,000 lithium batteries burned for almost two weeks, requiring comprehensive environmental cleanup — taxpayer dollars spent to undo a preventable environmental disaster. Another California BESS fire in Moss Landing forced the EPA to install air monitors in nine locations across the entire community. Advertisement From Suffolk County to Staten Island, Western New York and the North Country, New Yorkers have been vocal about their BESS safety concerns, but state officials have largely ignored them. In fact, Albany has sidelined local voices with a barrage of legislation that minimizes community input. The 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act set impossibly ambitious targets that even the state's own Draft Energy Report admits cannot be met. The state allocated $350 million in tax incentives under this law to deploy 1,500 megawatts of energy storage this year and 3,000 MW by 2030, because energy derived from intermittent sources like wind and solar must be stored. Advertisement Since then, 6,000 battery storage projects in New York have been connected to the electric grid, creating about 440 megawatts of storage capacity with an additional 1.3 gigawatts under contract — far behind the state's lofty 6-gigawatt target. So Albany has doubled down with laws designed to bypass local zoning processes and speed up BESS development. In particular, the 2024 RAPID Act placed permitting authority for many projects under the Public Service Commission's purview — taking the decision-making power away from municipal boards elected by communities where the projects will go. The new state-mandated regime instead established automatic approval deadlines that guarantee controversial BESS facilities can move forward. The RAPID Act gives state bureaucrats final say over projects of 25 MW or larger, even when local communities overwhelmingly oppose them. Host communities are reduced to spectators in their own backyards, stripped of the zoning authority that is part of the foundation of local government. New Yorkers should not be forced to accept BESS facilities without informed consent, robust emergency plans and fail-safe protections for schools, homes and hospitals. Advertisement That's why the Environmental Protection Agency has announced the first-ever BESS federal safety toolkit, addressing such projects' complete lifecycle — from siting through emergency response. Rather than dismissing community concerns, the agency is listening to Americans who have experienced these risks firsthand. The agency's unique expertise, developed through EPA's direct response to major BESS fires nationwide, provides the science-based guidance that rushed state policies like New York's lack. For example, in wildfires across California and Hawaii, lithium-battery fires— capable of spontaneous reignition even after appearing extinguished — have created some of the most dangerous cleanup challenges. Advertisement Get opinions and commentary from our columnists Subscribe to our daily Post Opinion newsletter! Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters Earlier this year in Los Angeles, EPA completed the largest ever wildfire cleanup in agency history in just 28 days, safely collecting and removing more than 1,000 electric vehicles and bulk energy storage systems. Local fire departments are first responders. But EPA manages the environmental fallout of these fires, from monitoring to cleanup. Advertisement While New York has rushed these facilities into communities across the state, EPA is providing the technical knowledge that local officials and first responders desperately need. EPA's safety toolkit is a resource for communities contending with BESS risk. It is designed not only to protect our environment, but to empower local residents and officials to demand accountability and genuine safety standards for BESS facilities. New York's race to deploy large-scale lithium battery storage has put speed over safety, installing industrial facilities in residential areas while bypassing local zoning laws and brushing off community input. Advertisement The state itself admits it cannot meet the 'green' benchmarks that partisans have forced into law. Time for Albany to set those delusional goals aside — and put constituents' voices, and their safety, first. Lee Zeldin, who represented Suffolk County in the US House of Representatives, serves as administrator of the EPA.
USA Today
16 minutes ago
- USA Today
Justice Department to begin turning over Jeffrey Epstein probe files, House chairman says
The DOJ move comes about a month after the House Oversight committee voted to approve the subpoenas in a rare bipartisan effort. WASHINGTON – The Justice Department in four days will begin sending some of the so-called 'Epstein files' from its sex-trafficking investigation into the disgraced late financier to the House Oversight Committee, committee Chairman James Comer said Aug. 18. 'There are many records in DOJ's custody, and it will take the Department time to produce all the records and ensure the identification of victims and any child sexual abuse material are redacted,' Comer said in a statement posted on X, adding that the first files are expected to arrive Aug. 22. 'I appreciate the Trump Administration's commitment to transparency and efforts to provide the American people with information about this matter.' The Justice Department was not immediately available for comment on what records it might turn over. On Aug. 5, Comer issued a subpoena to the Justice Department for records related to Epstein, the longtime Trump friend who died by suicide in 2019 as he was awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges. Republicans on the House Committee have also issued deposition subpoenas to former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as former top federal law enforcement officials including James Comey, Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, Merrick Garland, Robert Mueller, William Barr, Jeff Sessions and Alberto Gonzales. Those are scheduled to get underway this month. Those subpoenas seek testimony 'related to horrific crimes perpetrated by Jeffrey Epstein,' Comer, a Kentucky Republican, said when they were issued. The Oversight Committee voted July 23 to issue the subpoenas and to also seek the DOJ files, answering calls from lawmakers and voters alike for more information on Epstein and who else might have been involved in his underage sex-trafficking ring. While Trump supporters and MAGA influencers have said they want to see the names of prominent Democrats rumored to be in the files, Trump himself is likely in them, at least on flight logs from Epstein's private jet, according to already disclosed court records and other documents. The DOJ promise to hand over files follows weeks of intensifying drama and rare dispute between President Donald Trump, who had a long friendship with Epstein, and his MAGA base. Last month, the DOJ and FBI issued a joint statement saying they would not release Epstein investigative documents in their possession after months of promises by Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel to make that information public. The subpoenas appear to cover when Epstein allegedly sexually assaulted young women with the help of associate Ghislaine Maxwell, which dates back more than two decades. More: Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell quietly moved out of Florida federal prison Maxwell was interviewed over two days last month about what she knows about the case by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, a former Trump personal defense lawyer. The interviews were held in Tallahassee, Florida, where the former British socialite is serving a 20-year prison sentence for helping Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls. She has since been moved to a minimum-security federal prison 'camp' in Texas, prompting criticism from Democrats who charge that the Trump administration is giving her preferential treatment. It's unclear what exactly Maxwell told Blanche during the closed-door interviews, but her defense attorney, David Markus, said his client answered all of the government's questions, including those of about 100 different people. On July 23, a federal judge in Florida rejected a bid from the Justice Department to unseal grand jury testimony from 2005 and 2007 tied to a federal investigation into Epstein, who hanged himself in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges, an autopsy concluded. Maxwell is seeking to overturn her conviction and has filed a petition with the Supreme Court, which the Justice Department has opposed. Markus said he believes Ghislaine deserves relief and has appealed online to Trump for consideration, but said no such offer has been made. When asked if he would consider pardoning Maxwell, Trump told reporters, 'It's something I haven't thought about."
