House panel advances bill giving Sheriffs budget control

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The House Local Administration, Federal Affairs & Special Districts Subcommittee unanimously advanced legislation that could be a boon to the state’s Sheriffs who want control over their budgets.

HB 1447, sponsored by Rep. Wyman Duggan of Jacksonville, allows a Sheriff, including one of a consolidated city/county government, to move funds without the approval of the County Commission or Budget Commission after their budget is approved by the legislative body. This independence extends to procurement and personnel issues.

The subcommittee was the first stop for Duggan’s bill, which has the Judiciary Committee and State Affairs Committee ahead.

Sen. Clay Yarborough is carrying the companion bill, which has three stops ahead: Community Affairs, Criminal Justice and Rules. Community Affairs, the first stop for the measure, will hear it on Monday.

The two bills are aligned in language after a technical amendment in committee.

In Jacksonville, which has a Democratic Mayor and a Republican Sheriff that don’t always align, the Sheriff’s budget has a particular provenance.

Locals will remember a move from 2020 by former City Councilman Garrett Dennis, now a senior staffer for Mayor Donna Deegan, to hold half of the Sheriff’s budget in abeyance “below the line.”

That gambit didn’t succeed, but given worries about the Deegan administration from the city’s GOP establishment, this bill could be considered to be of a piece with other legislation attempting to curb mayoral powers, such as the bill looking to penalize city governments for removing Confederate monuments.