Jim Rosica
Despite dwindling revenue for the state budget in the years ahead, Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Rick Swearingen stuck to his budget request for 2017-18.
On Tuesday, Swearingen presented his request to Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet: Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam.
It was approved, with Scott abstaining because he must OK or veto items in the state budget after lawmakers pass it.
FDLE is seeking funding for 46 new positions, to create counterterrorism squads in all seven regions: Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, Pensacola, Tallahassee, and Tampa Bay.
Swearingen also wants to increase the base pay for FDLE agents from $46,000 a year to $56,000, he said.
To get what he wants, he’d need a $6.2 million boost from the state’s general revenue fund, which is expected to run on razor-thin margins next year, and into the red in subsequent years.
“I asked for what we need,” Swearingen said after his presentation. “Where the money comes from falls on the Legislature.”
He also was asked about his legislative proposal for next session, including new state counterterrorism laws that would include criminalizing “active membership in a foreign terrorist organization” and “creating … penalties for agroterrorism.”
They would give state law enforcement the same ability to make cases as federal authorities, Swearingen said.
When asked if there had been incidences of agroterrorism in the state, he said there had not. Swearingen also said he would release the draft language of the proposed statutes “as soon as it’s ready.”
Editor’s Note: This post has been updated to reflect a corrected cost figure.
