Governor Ron DeSantis Military Education

Florida State Guard Criminal Justice Unit Proposed

A criminal justice unit would be set up within the newly revived Florida State Guard under a bill filed Wednesday by a House Republican.
Gov. Ron DeSantis reactivated the mostly volunteer state guard last year to assist the Florida National Guard during emergencies. (File Photo)

A criminal justice unit would be set up within the newly revived Florida State Guard under a bill filed Wednesday by a House Republican.

The bill (HB 1285), filed for the legislative session that will start Tuesday, calls for the director of the state guard to organize a specialized unit that would be considered a criminal justice agency when activated by the governor.

People assigned to the unit would have to be certified as law-enforcement officers to be “vested with the authority to bear arms, detect, apprehend and make arrests while activated,” said the bill, filed by Rep. Mike Giallombardo, R-Cape Coral.

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The bill didn’t say how many people could be assigned to the unit. Gov. Ron DeSantis reactivated the mostly volunteer state guard last year to assist the Florida National Guard during emergencies.

The state guard is expected to be fully operational by July 1, the start of the 2023-2024 fiscal year.

The state guard was initially set up during World War II to replace Florida National Guard members who were deployed abroad.

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It went inactive in 1947 but remained in state law. In a budget proposal released in January, DeSantis called for the state guard to grow from 400 to 1,500 members.

Also, he proposed increasing its funding from $10 million this fiscal year to more than $95 million. Lawmakers will consider the issues as they negotiate a budget during the session.

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