The Florida Senate’s new budget chair is coming out in support of Governor Rick Scott’s plan to provide pay raises for the state’s law enforcement agencies.
At an Orlando press conference Thursday, Governor Scott announced his proposed budget for next year includes $11.7 million to reward Florida’s close to 4,000 law enforcement officers.
“I will propose a five percent pay raise for all sworn state law enforcement officers as part of my 2017-2018 recommended budget,” said Scott. “The brave men and women who serve Florida as members of our state law enforcement agencies work hard each and every day to make Florida the safest place to live and raise a family. And, they deserve to be rewarded for their life-saving work.”
Scott says the officers are especially deserving after responding to this year’s two Hurricanes and the Pulse nightclub shooting—the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history.
Agencies eligible for the proposed increase include the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Florida Highway Patrol, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
In a tweet, Senate Budget chairman Jack Latvala says he commends the Governor’s proposal, since “they’ve only had two pay raises in nine years.”
Latvala has said his top priority this session is pay raises for all state employees.
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