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The Republican-controlled legislature has passed bills cracking down on riots, and efforts aimed at changing election policies following the outcome of the 2020 election. Democrats have blasted both moves as potentially racist and haven’t hidden their disappointment with the bills. Now comes House Bill 7051—the legislature’s response to the killings of Black Americans by police which sparked the summer protests.
“The comments I’ve heard is that it doesn’t go far enough. And I would agree," said Sen. Randolph Bracy, D-Orlando. Bracy carried the bill through a last-minute hearing of the Senate Rules Committee, Tuesday.
Bracy and the Legislative Black Caucus spearheaded the effort and struck a deal with Republicans to get the bill. The measure requires law enforcement officials applying for jobs to disclose whether they’ve been the subject of a criminal, civil or internal investigation; it requires officers get more training in use-of-force and de-escalation techniques, prevents children under 7 from being arrested in most incidents and mandates the state begin tracking use-of-force incidents that result in injury or death.