Legislative Update - February 25, 2019

A look ahead to this week’s legislative activities.

Governor Lee Announces Additional Budget Priorities

Next Monday evening, Governor Bill Lee will present his first State of the State Address before a joint convention of the General Assembly where he will outline his budget proposal. Last week, though, he issued two press releases highlighting a couple of his budgetary priorities for the year. 

First, he announced that his budget would recognize $10 million in cuts to repeal the amusement tax on gym memberships. This tax levies almost a 10% charge on memberships to gyms, fitness centers and health clubs. Next, he announced a new investment in school security. His proposal would provide $40 million in grants for school security purposes with a priority for funding the placement of school resource officers (SROs) in each school across the state. The funds would also be available for schools that currently have an SRO to fund other safety priorities such as implementing building security measures or developing innovative violence prevention programs. The Department of Safety and Homeland Security and the Department of Education will jointly oversee the program.

Bills to Watch this Week

SB 587 by Lundberg (HB 715 by Faison) – This bill would remove vague and unprovable requirements on law enforcement officers and enable them to issue citations for low-level crimes rather than making arrests. Local jails across the state are overcrowded with many individuals being held on low-level, non-violent offenses. Allowing officers more discretion with issuing citations rather than making arrests frees up local jails, saves taxpayer dollars, and enables these individuals to continue to work and live their lives prior to their court dates. 

This bill is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee tomorrow at 3:00 p.m.

HB 853 by Carter (SB 715 by Watson) – Current law authorizes a municipality to propose annexation of certain non-contiguous territories if the affected property owners provide written consent. This bill would require another layer of approval by requiring the consent of the county commission.

This bill is scheduled for a hearing in the House Property & Planning Subcommittee on Wednesday at 11:00 a.m.

To see the status of all the bills being tracked by the Chamber, click here.