The House Judiciary Committee is the latest panel to advance legislation that could be a boon to consolidated government Sheriffs who want control over their budgets.
HB 1447, sponsored by GOP Rep. Wyman Duggan of Jacksonville, allows a Sheriff, including one of a consolidated city/county government, to move funds "between the fund and functional categories" 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 legislation is backed by the Florida Sheriffs' Association, and was uncontroversial Wednesday, with no debate ahead of a unanimous vote to advance it.
Republican Sen. Clay Yarborough is carrying the companion bill, which has stop in the Rules Committee ahead of it before it hits the Senate floor.
Both sponsors represent Jacksonville, which has a Democratic Mayor and a Republican Sheriff that don't always align. In the consolidated government, the Sheriff's budget has a particular provenance and has been a flashpoint in the past.
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.
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