The two criminal justice panels of the Florida Legislature are slated to meet Tuesday to take up a number of issues from the state’s troubled prison agency to a gun bill allowing guns on campus.
Newly appointed Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Julies Jones is expected to brief the Senate Criminal Justice Committee members about areas where the department is lacking and trying to improve.
The department has come under scrutiny for inmate deaths and allegations of abuse by prison guards.
Lawmakers will also hear a presentation by Florida TaxWatch based on their report about Florida’s aging prisoner population, and how that poses a future problem of causing a strain on the state’s budget.
Meanwhile, the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee will take up a bill allowing people to open and conceal carry firearms on college campuses. It’s a bill Florida State University President John Thrasher is against.
The panel is also slated to hold a workshop on body cameras for law enforcement officers. A bill has already been filed, and the Florida Police Benevolent Association is against the mandate.
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