Gov. DeSantis signs crackdowns on cash bail, ‘rainbow’ fentanyl

After signing bills that challenge court precedent on execution for child rape, Gov. Ron DeSantis is moving quickly to sign two other pieces of legislation.

HB 1627 will require the Florida Supreme Court to set up a statewide bond schedule and add the crimes of DUI manslaughter, fentanyl trafficking, written threats to kill and extortion to the list of crimes eligible for pretrial detention.

It bans “pro-criminal” judges from setting lower bonds than mandated in statute, while giving them discretion to exceed those floors. It also bans pretrial release of those arrested for violent crimes, and those who a judge believes probably committed those crimes. And it adds manslaughter while driving, boating under the influence, trafficking fentanyl, extortion, and written threats to kill to the list of those heinous crimes.

The bill is said to be “protecting Floridians from the disastrous ‘bail reforms’ being pushed by liberal politicians and prosecutors in high-crime jurisdictions throughout the country.”

DeSantis said liberal cash bail policies were “one of the worst things done in the country,” allowing people to get released even though they pose a threat and commit more crimes even before they are tried.

“You have police officers, having to go out and arrest these people again,” DeSantis said, creating a “culture of recidivism.”

DeSantis also signed HB 1359, which targets so-called “rainbow fentanyl” by enhancing penalties on fentanyl and other drug-related crimes when the drug is packaged like candy or in a way designed to be attractive to children.

“The amount of increase we’ve seen in the last five or six years has been astronomical,” DeSantis said.

Traffickers would be subject to potential life sentences. They would have to serve a minimum 25-year sentence and a $1 million penalty for each count.

The bill also ensures possession, sale, or manufacture of these substances, including fentanyl and other candy-like controlled substances, would be a first-degree felony.

“They need to be treated like murderers because they are murdering people,” DeSantis said.

“In Florida, we stand for the rule of law, we back our blue, and we treat offenders as they should be treated — not as victims, but as criminals who deserve to be behind bars,” said Attorney General Ashley Moody.

“That’s one of the reasons why we are the fastest growing state in the nation. I am grateful for Gov. DeSantis’ strong leadership in advocating for, and signing, new laws that go after fentanyl traffickers and keep violent and repeat offenders behind bars to protect Floridians and our millions of visitors.”

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Gray Rohrer of Florida Politics contributed to this report.