DeSantis bans native governments from defending employees from warmth and limits police oversight boards
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida is seeing two newer cases of state authorities underneath Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis limiting the powers of native authorities with newly-signed payments that cope with employee security and police oversight.
A invoice signed Thursday bans native governments from requiring warmth and water breaks for out of doors employees. And a invoice DeSantis signed Friday strips native citizen police oversight boards from investigating officers.
OUTDOOR WORKER SAFETY
In a invoice DeSantis signed Thursday, Florida, one of many hottest states within the nation, native governments can be banned from requiring warmth and water breaks for out of doors employees.
It was a direct response to Miami-Dade County’s effort to require shade and water for building, farm and different out of doors employees.
However in a state the place building and farming are large industries — Miami-Dade estimates greater than 325,000 employees in that county alone — critics lambasted the invoice that retains native authorities from defending employees from warmth and solar. Democratic state Sen. Victor Torres known as the brand new legislation an assault on employees.
Requested concerning the invoice Friday, DeSantis stated it was a difficulty raised by Miami-Dade County lawmakers.
“It actually wasn’t something that was coming from me. There was loads of concern out of 1 county — Miami-Dade,” DeSantis stated. “They had been pursuing what was going to trigger loads of issues down there.”
However the legislation will now hold Florida’s 66 different counties from requiring comparable employee protections.
POLICE OVERSIGHT
Individually, DeSantis signed a invoice Friday that will ban native coverage advisory commissions from initiating disciplinary actions towards officers, as an alternative limiting the residents boards to creating suggestions on coverage. DeSantis was surrounded by legislation enforcement officers and in entrance of cheering supporters as he signed the invoice to ban residents oversight boards from investigating complaints about cops.
DeSantis stated some counties have commissioners that appoint activists to oversight boards and use them as a political weapons for an anti-police agenda.
“They don’t seem to be free to make use of legislation enforcement as political pinatas, they are not free to create false narratives, they are not free to attempt to make it depressing to work in uniform,” DeSantis stated. “They don’t seem to be in a position to provoke disciplinary proceedings. Now we have different methods to try this.”
The legislation additionally requires the oversight boards to be appointed by and underneath the route of sheriff’s and police chiefs. At the very least one member of oversight boards should be a retired legislation enforcement officer.
