Fill out this form to email this article to a friend
Full Senate to debate use of guns for protection
Today is Day 16 of the 60-day session of the Florida Legislature.
Associated Press
Published March 23, 2005
A gun bill is headed for a final floor vote in the Senate.
The bill (SB 436), sponsored by Sen. Durrell Peaden, R-Crestview, would eliminate criminal penalties for an individual who uses deadly force as self-protection in his home or vehicle and other unspecified circumstances.
The open-ended language concerned some lawmakers during a brief floor discussion Tuesday, but Senate President Tom Lee said later he is confident any loopholes will be closed before the measure - backed by the National Rifle Association - wins final backing.
"We're not opening this situation up to street warfare in Florida," Lee said. "I don't think that's the intent of this legislation at all."
But Lee conceded there were questions about the parameters of Peaden's proposal, which includes immunity from criminal prosecution or civil action for using deadly force in a threatening situation.
A similar proposal (HB 249) is scheduled to be heard today in the House Justice Council.
Tuition setting authority nears full House vote
A bill that says state lawmakers have the right to set tuition at Florida's public universities moved Tuesday through its first review by the full House and is ready for a vote when the House next meets.
Rep. Dudley Goodlette, R-Naples, sponsor of HB 1001, said it is designed to clarify the role of the Legislature and the Board of Governors, which voters created in 2002 to oversee state universities.
One of the key debates is over who gets to set tuition. The Board of Governors believes that falls under its constitutional authority. Dudley and other lawmakers argue that it's part of the Legislature's power.
Victor Crist bill to add 110 judgeships advances
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved legislation to create 110 new judgeships.
Under CS-SB 2048, the state would get 108 new trial judges and two new appellate judges. Gov. Jeb Bush would appoint half the judges by next year and the other half would be elected in the fall of 2006.
Sen. Victor Crist, the Tampa Republican who sponsored the bill, said the state's courts are in a crisis with a backlog in both criminal and civil courts.
The state now has 807 trial judges, plus 62 judges sitting on five district courts of appeal.
Putting the new judges on the bench would cost the state an estimated $18.3-million. Since 2000, the Legislature has authorized fewer than 20 percent of the new judges requested by the state Supreme Court - and no new trial judges have been funded in the last two years.
For information about legislation, call 1-800-342-1827 toll-free or (850) 488-4371 during business hours.
The Legislature's official Web site: www.leg.state.fl.us
Capitol Update, a half-hour TV program on the day's legislative highlights, airs weeknights on public stations.
[Last modified March 23, 2005, 00:54:07]
Share your thoughts on this story
|
News
Fifty years ago, they were screwed-up kids sent to the Florida School for Boys to be straightened out. But now they are screwed-up men, scarred by the whippings they endured. Read the story and see a video and portrait gallery.
Print
Email story
Comment
Email editor
THE LATEST
